Future’s Hope - A Danganronpa Spinoff
by Taylor-aimee
Summary: 'Despair is a wretched, horrible thing. It twists and curls around the corners of your mind, waiting for the moment you weaken so it can break in and engulf your thoughts with bleak, depressing imagery. It bides its time, waits until you are hopeful, and crushes that hope with the fist of an iron-clad hand. It holds your dreams in front of you on a fishing line, forever out of re
1. The Cast

_**The Cast**_

 **The Girls of Future's Hope**

 **Kioko Kozakura, Ultimate Board Gamer**

A sprightly, energetic girl who loves playing board games, more specifically Clue and Monopoly. She was part of the Chess Club at school, but under her influence the club moved on from chess to all sorts of board games, and soon she was made club leader. She began competing in inter school chess matches, which turned into state, then country wide matches, and she became the youngest ever person to win a national chess match against people twice her age.

 **Sora Yukiko, Ultimate Snowboarder**

An Olympic gold medalist, Sora works hard to be at peak performance for her talent. She cannonballed to international fame at ten years old as videos of her snowboarding skills went viral online. She stresses about her physical performance often due to her need to uphold the title of Ultimate, but she never learnt how to handle stress well. Some would say she gets a little bit snappy when she can't get on her snowboard often enough.

 **Kaida Satsuki, Ultimate Woodworker**

A Woodworker famous for changing the product design world with her innovative thinking and new takes on old styles, Kaida has thousands lining up for her products. She was accepted into Future's Hope after she received national attention for her designs and products, and coined an entirely new style of design, which is a mix between the modern day and the past.

 **Aimi Minori, Ultimate Harajuku Fashionista**

Aimi's loud clothing, out-there fashion sense and kind personality has made her a popular online influencer, and she has millions of people looking up to her for fashion advice. She strives to always be herself and tends to become a people magnet due to her aura.

 **Rei Amaterasu, Ultimate Exorcist**

Rei claims she speaks to spirits at all hours of the night and day. She has a fondness for enclosed spaces due to her 'need' to be as close to spirits as possible, and her lack of ability to communicate with living people is due to her antisocial behaviour as a child and young adult.

She used to have an 'imaginary' friend called Eki, who brought Rei's parents much turmoil and caused them to move house. Eki has been quiet for the last few years, but nobody can tell if they're still around or not.

 **Fuyutake Ganko, Ultimate Graffiti Artist**

Fuyutake is quite mysterious to her friends and classmates, and not much is known about her backstory. What is known, however, is that she is a talented graffiti artist. So talented, in fact, that she earned the title of Ultimate for her artworks. Rumours of her being a fake have been circulating, however, as students of Future's Hope have never seen her artworks.

 **Rouko Soba, Ultimate Translator**

Rouko has had a love for languages since she could speak, and so far can speak 10 languages fluently, is learning 11, and has plans to learn more as the years continue. The language she is best at is Sign Language, and she has been on tv and in media many times, providing translations for anyone and everyone.

 **Kyung Hye, Ultimate Exchange Student**

Kyung grew up in South Korea, in a large family. Often, she would look after her younger siblings, since her parents travelled for work. After hearing the stories and experiences her parents had, she found she wanted to do the same thing. Kyung has travelled far and wide, but surprisingly, being accepted into Future's Hope was the first time she'd set foot in Japan.

 **The Boys of Future's Hope**

 **Eiji Hikou, Ultimate Airplane Pilot**

Surprisingly enough, Eiji Hikou has never flown a plane. He is training, however he is still a year away from actually climbing into a real cockpit. In his training simulations and studies, he is incredibly talented and works hard, but some would say he asks just a _few_ too many questions sometimes. His abilities as a pilot are constantly called into question due to his somewhat childish nature.

 **Tamotsu Ryuunosuke, Ultimate Cello Player**

Tamotsu's music has been thought of as incredibly compelling and gut-wrenching, and he has brought many audiences to tears and smiles with how beautiful his music is. He cares deeply for his art and his friends, and can be frequently found writing music in a notebook he carries everywhere.

 **Seiichi Shigeru, Ultimate Tailor**

Borne as the only child to a rich family of fashion designers and models, Seiichi has been around clothing all his life. He has an obsession with making sure people fit properly into their clothing, which sometimes borders on creepy. However, it can't be said that he does a mediocre job at his tailoring.

 **Asahi Seiko, Ultimate Parkour Expert**

At first seeming like a closed-off and quiet person, Asahi seems like the least likely person to be given the title 'Parkour Expert'. However, once you see him in action, you will quickly realise why he was given the title. Winning various competitions and even teaching parkour classes of his own, Asahi was given the title Parkour Expert even before he was of age to go to Future's Hope.

 **Michi Katsu, Ultimate Speed Skater**

Michi has been on television multiple times for his speed skating, but he hasn't quite made it to the olympics or similar competitions yet. He is never seen without his rollerblades, leading many to wonder if he lives in them or if he wears normal shoes sometimes. He is extremely independent and doesn't like to be interrupted from his practise time.

 **Yuudai Kenen, Ultimate Theatre Manager**

Yuudai's past school has many things to thank him for, most of all being their fame for providing their community with incredible, West End/Broadway quality productions bi-yearly. Though Yuudai attends Future's Hope, he utilises his talents for his previous school and helps them with their shows. The casts of shows regularly speak praise of his organisation and calm nature, and he has many production companies after him and his talent.

 **Alastor Yashin, Ultimate Croupier**

'Croupier'. In modern times this word is similar to the word 'dealer' in gambling, and this is exactly what Alastor does. What makes him a Croupier instead of a Dealer, though, is his secondary talent. He works in his parents casino as the one who stands behind gamblers, holding onto their reserves of money to back them up (which doesn't sound like a talent, but he is adamant that it is). His nature makes him a sought-after dealer, however, as croupiers are quickly going out of business.

Not much is known about this person. The reason they don't have a talent is unknown. Whether they keep it to themself, or they truly were accepted to Future's Hope with no talent is a question many ask but none know the answer to.


	2. Prologue

_"Hey!" A voice called, "Hey, are you here?"_

 _"Are you even awake?" The voice came closer to me and I immediately pulled away from it, annoyed._

 _And I felt my head drop off the desk._

"Gyagh-!" I hit the ground hard, groaning.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and found myself face-down on hardwood flooring. I waited for the voice to come back, to scold me for sleeping in class, but when nothing came I decided it was safe to push myself upwards and look around.

There was no way I was coming back from falling off my desk in the middle of class. Surely I would be the laughing stock of the school.

Slowly, I shifted onto my knees, lifting my head.

And I gasped.

I was on the floor of an unfamiliar room with blank white walls and a wooden bed with matching white sheets on it. A desk sat in front of me, pressed against the wall with a swivel chair spun halfway round.

"What the-" I jumped up, suddenly on edge.

Where was this?

The top of the desk held a keyring and a small box, neatly wrapped in black and white wrapping paper.

Heart beating fast, I moved to the desk as quietly as I could and grabbed the keyring, pushing a key between my knuckles as a weapon in case of attack.

How did I go from sleeping in class to waking up here?

I peered around the corner of the bedroom I was in, but to my surprise, I couldn't see anyone in the next room.

Where had that voice come from?

Slowly, I stepped around the corner.

A small living space was set up in front of me. A low glass coffee table sat in front of a white couch, a small vase with a fake flower placed onto the table. Next to the couch was a wardrobe with sliding doors, unopened and silent.

In a small alcove next to the wardrobe was two doors. One had a nice frosted glass covering it, and the other had a peephole. I decided to look at the frosted glass door first.

When I opened it, the first thing I saw was my own face staring at me from a mirror, confused and with messy hair.

I stepped inside and leant forward, fixing my hair and rubbing my eyes. Finally, I looked at myself again.

This is me.

 **Asahi Seiko, the Ultimate Parkour Expert.**

My white hair shot out in different awkward directions, but it was the best I could get it to look. Dark purple eyes stared out from a pale face, my uniform slightly rumpled but not terrible-looking.

I glanced around the room. It had all the basics. A shower, toilet and sink.

Not seeing anything of particular interest, I left the room, closing the door behind me.

I looked upwards, and noticed how tall the ceilings were.

I also noticed something strange.

Frowning, I moved closer to the strange object, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.

Ah!

A security camera?!

What was a camera doing in my room?

A shiver ran down my spine. Was I being watched?

The lens of the camera stared at me silently, offering no answer.

Slowly, I backed away from it, my shoulders squared. Something was off here. Something was definitely off.

I tried to think back to how I could have found myself in a strange room, but my memories were fuzzy. The last thing I remembered was falling asleep in class...

"Oh!" I uttered the word out loud, making myself jump.

They had said something about tests before I fell asleep that day. To assure we truly were the Ultimates in our chosen talent.

But why would they wake us up in a random room? This place had nothing to do with my talent!

I ran my hands through my hair in frustration, shaking my head.

A hostage situation? If it was, it was a comfortable one.

Tests? I couldn't perform my talent in a bedroom!

Wait.

The dorm rooms. Future's Hope had all its Ultimate students move into dorm rooms at the beginning of the year. That must have been it. The last thing I remembered was a teacher speaking about the tests. I had performed the test, and passed, and therefore I had been taken to my dorm room to be fully accepted into Future's Hope!

I clapped my hands together happily.

That must be it!

With a new boost of confidence, I strolled to the front door of my dorm room and twisted the handle, yanking the door open.

" _Kyaaaaaaah! It's a monster!_ " A voice screamed, and suddenly I was on the ground, a pain growing in my stomach.

 _This_ was my welcome to Future's Hope?

Wait.

A monster?!

" _Kyaaaah!_ I didn't mean to hit you so hard!" The voice shouted again. I groaned and cracked my eyes open, a pair of tan legs meeting my vision, blue and yellow school shoes attached.

"It speaks! Do you understand English, monster?" The voice asked.

"I'm not a monster." I groaned, pushing myself into a sitting position. I looked up, finally seeing the face of my aggressor.

She had tan skin and black hair in four plaits which seemed to defy gravity. Her eyes were wide, one blue, the other half-blue and half-yellow. She wore a faded yellow jumper with the sleeves rolled up under a blue pinafore dress, a dark blue belt with a pouch attached sitting on her hips. Two hair clips held strands of hair which framed her face, one a circle, the other a cross, also blue. A bow adorned the shirt she wore under the jumper, dark blue and poking out over the jumper and pinafore.

"A monster not believing it's a monster! I didn't know this trope existed in real life!" The girl gasped.

"Who are you?" I asked, running a hand through my hair.

"I should be asking you that question, monster!" The girl replied.

I frowned.

I had no idea what was going on.

But I don't know my way around Future's Hope, so it would be nice to have a person to help me around.

"My name is Asahi Seiko. I'm the Ultimate Parkour Expert." I said, standing up.

Finally, I noticed how short the girl was. She only reached my shoulder.

"Oh, oh! You're an Ultimate? I am too!" She grinned.

"Isn't everyone that goes to Future's Hope an Ultimate?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Eh?" The girl frowned, "we aren't at Future's Hope, silly."

Wait, what?

"Not at...Future's Hope? Then where are we?" I asked, looking away from her.

A glass wall met my eyes, looking over an empty space outside. The sun shone into the hallway, casting strong shadows.

But, there was something else. The empty space was in a square shape, and windows covered the three other walls, showing what the rest of the place looked like.

Directly across from us was a hallway. The hall to my right held four doors, and the one to my left a set of double doors, unmoving and silent, two glass cases sat on either side of them.

Looking behind me, I noticed my room was one of many, the rooms disappearing to the right around a corner.

But-

There, down the end of the hall. A large opening in the wall, covered by bars. It was one of two things.

A way out.

Or some kind of trap.

I moved to walk towards it, ready to investigate, but I was yanked back by someone with surprising strength.

"Hey, were you even listening?" The black-haired girl asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh, uhm..." I paused, "no. Sorry."

"You missed my self introduction!" The girl puffed her cheeks out annoyedly, then her expression changed, "oh well, now I can give it one hundred percent!"

"One hundred percent?" I asked.

"Of course! My name is **Kioko Kozakura, the Ultimate Board Gamer**! I'm the Queen of the chess set, the leader of Operation, the master of the game of Life!" She shouted with such energy that I found myself suddenly feeling inferior.

"And I have no idea where we are!" Kioko Kozakura finished with a triumphant grin, as if she had just solved the world's problems.

"I'm not sure that not knowing where we are is a good thing..." I trailed off, "Wait, why did you think I was a monster?!" Her words from earlier suddenly came back to me.

"Eh? Oh, right! You have white hair, and I've never seen a person with white hair before!" She explained.

"White hair doesn't mean I'm a monster..." I mumbled, running my hand through my hair.

"But it's suuuuper rare!" Kioko replied, before pausing, "can I touch it?" She asked quietly.

"Huh?" I jumped back a little bit in shock, "aren't there more important things to think about?"

"Hmmm..." The Ultimate Board Gamer trailed off, "probably. But I want to touch your hair! In case I never get the chance to after this moment!"

"We should go over there. It might have some clues." I replied, ignoring her statement. I began to walk towards the wall with the bars, and after a moment I heard light footsteps jogging to catch up.

"Hey! Don't walk off on me! I've got the Ultimate knowledge on escape room games!" Kioko said.

"I thought you were the Ultimate Board Gamer?" I asked.

"There are escape room board games!" Kioko replied defiantly, poking her nose into the air.

"Ahh, well, I guess my knowledge on board games isn't that advanced." I said, laughing to myself.

We walked to the end of the hall in almost complete silence, and as the wall came into more clarity, my eyes widened in shock.

A staircase behind a wall of rusted, bent bars, too small for someone to fit through.

"Dammit." I grumbled, gripping one of the bars and pulling it. Surprisingly, it held strong.

"I bet we need a special key to unlock it! And to find that key, we have to solve a series of increasingly difficult puzzles which will test the strength of our comrades and eventually lead us to an irrefutable victory with the combined knowledge and power of friendship!" Kioko shouted excitedly, "let's start searching!"

I went to reply to her, but before I could another voice interrupted us.

"Ooooooiii, is that other people I see?" The person shouted from down the hallway.

I spun to see a boy with short blonde curls peeking out from under a pilot's hat, looking at us with binoculars he made from his hands.

But before I could question anything that was happening, he shot off like a rocket towards us.

Shocked, I simply froze in place as he barrelled towards me at full force, awaiting my certain doom at the hands of this...pilot?

But then he stopped.

The boy looked up at Kioko and I with wide blue eyes, a huge smile on his face.

He wore a white and gold Pilot's uniform, but instead of a button-up shirt underneath the blazer he simply wore an orange t-shirt. His shoes were navy blue, matching the accents on his uniform, and his hat was the same, a badge of a shield with a singular wing coming out of the top of it placed squarely in the centre of his hat. His uniform was adorned with pins of random things, from popular characters in fiction to the names of cities.

"Hi! What's your names? Where did you come from? Have you found the way out? Are you Ultimates? Which school do you go to? How come you've got white hair? What are those bars? Have you seen a toilet anywhere? Where's everyone else?" The barrage of questions didn't stop, and I found myself at a loss for words.

Kioko Kozakura, in contrast, was the one to stop the boy from continuing.

"There's a toilet in your room!" She said, pointing down the hallway.

"What? Really?" The boy's eyes lit up, "woah, that's awesome! I've never had an en-suite bathroom before!"

"Hey, what's your name?" I asked.

The boy paused for a moment, and then the question registered and he smiled widely.

"Me? I'm **Eiji Hikou, the Ultimate Airplane Pilot**! I've never flown a real plane before, but when I do I'll live my life in the sky, soaring with the birds!" Eiji Hikou saluted to us.

"An Ultimate that's never done their talent before?" I asked, intrigued.

"Yep yep! I've done all the simulations, but I haven't done the final test yet!" Hikou explained.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Eiji Hikou. I'm Asahi Seiko, the Ultimate Parkour Expert." I held a hand out for him to shake, which he did.

"That's a really cool talent!" He said, before turning to Kioko.

"I'm Kioko Kozakura, the Ultimate Board Gamer! I'm the best of the best in any game of logic!" She grinned, reaching her hand out, and Hikou shook it.

"Do you know what we're doing here?" I asked Eiji.

"Nope! Why are those bars on the staircase?" The Airplane Pilot replied.

"We have to complete a puzzle and collect all the keys so we can escape!" Kioko replied.

"Uh, that might not be true..." I drifted off - neither of them were listening to me.

"Woah! Can I join in? I'll be the Ultimate navigator for your trip! First, we go right!" The Pilot pointed in the direction and spun, walking off.

"Yeah, let's go!" Kioko replied, following. She turned back to me, though, after realising I wasn't joining in.

"Are you coming too?" She asked.

"Uhm, I think I'll be fine. I'm going to see if I can break the bars or something." I replied.

"Good luck, then! I hope you pass Go!" She called, before running off and around a corner.

I sighed and scratched my head, before turning back to the bars.

"Oiya! What's this I hear about breaking bars?" An odd-sounding voice sent my eyes to the top step, where I immediately leaped back in surprise.

A black and white...cat!...stood at the top step, no taller than my knee, with its paws on its hips.

"Did that thing...just talk?!" I asked, shifting closer to it again.

"I sure did! And I'm already very disappointed in this group!" The cat shouted, jumping up and down in anger.

"Gyagh!" I jumped back again.

"Stop shouting! I'm not that scary!" The cat shouted, "after all, I was designed to appeal to every audience..." It trailed off.

"Who's voicing you?" I asked, "is there someone hiding on the stairs?"

"Nobody's hiding, bastard! I'm talking because I can. I'm the only me that's voicing me!" The cat fumed, "and don't break the bars!"

And then it disappeared.

How...confusing.

I sat on the floor for a few more moments, before finally deciding to get up and explore. After all, there could be other ways out that I hadn't seen before. If worse came to worse, a rope made of bedsheets and a broken window could help us leave.

Speaking of, how many of 'us' were there? Why were there so many Ultimates in one place?

If this was Future's Hope, it would make sense. But from the looks of it, and from what Kioko had said, we weren't at the school.

Frowning, I decided to turn back to where my room was. The hallway curved to the right, and I followed.

"There's so many doors...why are there so many doors?" I turned the corner to see two girls standing at the end of the hallway.

The one who spoke was relatively short compared to the one next to her, and had cropped brown hair, dark pink, almost red eyes and a brown jacket on. A pair of clear safety glasses sat atop her head, keeping her hair out of her face.

"Maybe there's more people." The taller one spoke with annoyance, her arms crossed and a frown on her face.

She was tall, had red straight hair in a ponytail and orange eyes, and wore chunky black and orange boots.

"But it's so weird. Look, all the doors have these weird little plaques on...them...huh?" The shorter girl finally noticed me, and frowned.

"I told you there'd be more people." The red-haired girl said. Her voice sounded familiar...where had I heard it before?

"What's ya name?" She nodded at me.

I almost had it...if she spoke a bit more I was sure I would be able to know who she was.

"Hey, he looks kinda shellshocked." The shorter girl said, "are you ok? Hello?"

"Don't tell me he knows." The red-haired girl grumbled. At that, I broke through the fog of my memories and a name surfaced.

"Sora!" I gasped, "Sora Yukiko!"

 **Sora Yukiko, the Ultimate Snowboarder**. She had won gold in the olympics more times than I could count. She was my biggest inspiration, and my first ever crush when I was younger and saw her on TV.

"For fucks' sakes, I thought I'd at least be free of fanboys here." Sora Yukiko groaned, rolling her eyes.

The shorter girl laughed.

"You're too famous for your own good." She said.

"Yeah, whatever." Sora Yukiko walked up to me, and my face turned red.

"Name. What is it?" She said.

I tried to speak, but all that came out was a high pitched noise of some sort. The shorter girl laughed even harder.

"You've scared him." She said.

"Does scaring people into speaking not work?" Sora Yukiko asked, "I saw it on TV once..."

"A-Asahi! Asahi Seiko, Ultimate Parkour Expert!" I managed to spit out, quelling the urge to salute her.

"And we have a name!" The shorter girl threw her hands up, grinning.

"Asahi. I think I've heard that name before." Sora Yukiko pressed a finger to her chin.

"R-really?" I gasped. Had she heard of me too? Was I known by the Ultimate Snowboarder?

"Nah, I have no clue who you are." Sora Yukiko patted me on the shoulder and turned back to her friend. Normally, I would have been angry, but I couldn't bring myself to get upset at her. She was my biggest inspiration.

As much as I wanted to shout and scream and ask for her autograph, though, I knew I had to keep some level of sanity so she didn't automatically hate me. I took a few deep breaths, swallowed, and forced myself to stop being stupid. Turning away from Sora and to the shorter girl, I forced my voice to maintain its normal level and asked her name.

"Me?" She asked, "I'm **Kaida Satsuki, the Ultimate Woodworker**. I'm responsible for some of the most inspiring works of this generation! Or, that's what the media says, at least." Kaida Satsuki scratched the back of her neck, laughing a little. Underneath the jacket she wore a red apron, brown skirt and black shorts, with a pair of heavy-looking short brown boots and red socks.

"It's...nice to meet you." I held a hand out absentmindedly, my eyes drifting back to Sora. She was wearing a black jumper and orange pants tucked into her boots, with suspenders holding them up over her shoulders. She wore black and orange gloves and had snowboarding goggles on top of her head. She was brushing something off her shoulder, and as she did so I sighed happily as I watched her hair shift and sway as she moved.

Oh, how pretty she was...

"Oi." A whisper in my ear. I ignored it.

"Oi!" This time it was louder, but I still ignored it.

It wasn't until the third time, when the speaker took to giving me a swift chop to the stomach while whispering, that I finally paid attention.

"Ow!" I gasped, clutching my stomach. Kaida Satsuki stepped in front of me, making a 'be quiet' motion with her hands.

"Stop gawking. You look like an idiot." She hissed.

"Eh?" I asked.

"I know everyone's starstruck because 'woah look, a celebrity', but everyone I've met here is an Ultimate too." She said, bobbing down to my level.

"What's your point?" I asked. Kaida rolled her eyes.

"My point, Seiko, is that you are also an Ultimate, so there's no need to be so starstruck by someone at the same level as you." She explained.

I supposed she was right. I was acting like a lovestruck puppy...

"Hey, what are you two gossiping about?" Sora Yukiko poked her head over Kaida's shoulder and raised an eyebrow. I was about to do something stupid again, but stopped myself just before, running my hands through my hair.

"We were sharing secrets." Kaida wiggled her eyebrows, a sly grin on her face.

"Uhm, I should keep exploring." I said, trying to keep my voice level, "it was...good to meet you two." I reached a hand out and Kaida took it, pulling me in close.

"Pull yourself together, fanboy. Then you'll have a chance with Yukiko." She whispered in my ear, letting go of my hand.

Sora didn't shake my hand. She tilted her head, stared at it like it was a foreign object, and spun, walking away. Kaida mouthed an apology and shooed me away.

Even as I left, I couldn't quite put together what had just happened. I had only met four people so far, and all of them had such big personalities...and yet I was so normal. I could only wonder; were they the outliers of whoever else I might meet, or were they the average?

I came out of my thoughts standing at the door of a room.

For some reason, I felt I needed to stay quiet, to listen for anything or anyone.

Surprisingly, all was mostly quiet. There were faint noises coming from somewhere far away, but I could hear nothing from the room.

Hesitating for a moment, I twisted the doorknob and stepped inside.

It was void of people.

The room was set up as a classroom, with rows of desks and chairs, and a blackboard at the very front. Towards the back of the room was a row of bookshelves with a sparse collection of literature and manga, and a small cupboard. I couldn't see anything interesting at the front of the room, so I turned my gaze to the back.

The bookshelf only held a few pieces, and I ran my hands over the spines as I read them.

My Despair Academia, Hope High School Host Club, Mono Potter...these all sounded familiar...

Suddenly, a noise made me jump up, shocked.

It had come from...the cupboard?

"H-Hello?" I asked, walking towards it. A creeping fear rose up as I stepped to the door, pressing my hand down on the knob.

I hesitated for only a moment before I pulled the door open quickly.

And saw something.

"Gyagh!" I threw myself backwards, landing in a heap on a tumbled over desk, a chair stuck between my legs. I took a moment to register what I was seeing, and frowned.

A girl.

There was a girl, sitting in the cupboard on a pile of boxes, her knees up to her chin and facing the wall, deep green hair tumbling down her back in big curls.

"Hello?" I asked, "you scared me."

The girl didn't respond. Slowly, I untangled myself from the chair and desk and stood, brushing myself off. Then, after no response from the girl came, I decided that maybe she hadn't heard me. She could be deaf, or not want me around, but I really wanted to find out why she was sitting so uncomfortably in a cupboard.

I took a few steps towards her, and as I did, I heard something.

She was...muttering to herself. I couldn't hear the words properly as she was speaking so quietly, but whatever she was saying, it was in a very calculated and slow manner, as if she was thinking hard before she spoke.

"Hey, what's your name?" I asked, reaching a hand out to touch her shoulder.

Before I realised what was happening, however, her head spun to me with inhuman speed and she reached an arm out, gripping my wrist and yanking me closer with a vice-like grip.

She stared at me with shockingly red eyes and heavy eye bags.

"Leave," She whispered, "It's not safe."

"H-huh?" I asked, more out of shock than anything.

"The spirits," The girl's eyes glazed over a moment as she thought, "there is mortal danger."

And with that she shoved me back into the desk, reached for the cupboard door and slammed it closed so hard the wall shook.

A mere second later, the classroom door burst open and a girl with colourful hair ran in, alarm on her face. She was followed by a tall man with black hair and pink eyes, who looked entirely disinterested.

"What happened? Did something break?" The girl asked, her voice soft. She finally noticed me, tangled in the desk again, and let out a squeal, pressing her hands to her cheeks.

"Ah, what happened?!" She asked, not making any moves to help.

"I think it's fairly obvious that he's fallen into a desk." The tall man said, re-buttoning a loose shirt cuff. The cufflinks were shaped like die.

"There was a girl in the cupboard-!" I managed to spit out, trying to pull myself out of the desk and, with some effort, succeeding.

"A girl in the cupboard?" The man tilted his head, amused.

"Look inside!" I said, gesturing to it.

"Did you hurt yourself? Are your clothes okay?" The girl asked, rushing over and giving me a once-over.

"N-no, I'm fine..." I drifted off, "but the girl said something about mortal danger! We should find a way out!" I said.

"Mortal danger?" The colourful girl asked.

"What a silly notion." The man chuckled.

"Check in the cupboard! She's in there, I swear!" I said.

"Why don't you open the cupboard, then?" The man asked. I looked to the offending door, then back to him.

"There is no way I'm risking being caught again." I whispered, so only they could hear.

"Caught?" The girl frowned, "What do you mean? Are you sure you're okay?" She pressed a cool hand to my forehead.

"I'm fine!" I said, louder than I expected. The girl pulled her hand away, shocked.

Both of the strangers stared at me, unsure of what to say. I brushed my hand through my hair, feeling my face turn pink in embarrassment.

"Uhm, I should probably introduce myself." I said, changing the subject. The other two seemed to understand what I was trying to do.

"Oh, of course! We haven't introduced ourselves either!" The girl said, eyes wide.

"I'm Asahi Seiko, the Ultimate Parkour Expert." I said, holding a hand out. The man took it with a firm grip and shook my hand.

"My name is **Alastor Yashin. I'm the Ultimate Croupier**." He said. I finally got a good look at him.

His black hair was slicked back, and his eyes were a bright pink. He wore a black velvet waistcoat with a red collar over a simple white shirt and black pants, black dress shoes on his feet. His waistcoat had a patch on it of the lucky triple seven, and he wore a red tie. He was incredibly well put-together, his aura reeking of fortune and intelligence.

"What's a croupier?" I asked stupidly.

"That's the million-dollar question." Alastor Yashin chuckled, "I'm an old-fashioned dealer of sorts, at my parents casino. I hold the money for people who are betting, so they don't get stolen from or spend too much. I have also, on occasion, been the dealer of some tabletop games such as roulette." He explained. He already sounded much more worldly than I could ever hope to be.

"That's...interesting." I managed to say.

"I can understand your confusion. Most people in our age range are barely old enough to enter a casino, let alone work in one." Alastor finally let go of my hand, and I suddenly realised how long he had been holding it for. Almost immediately, though, the other girl gripped my hand, smiling at me with midnight blue, soft eyes.

"My name is **Aimi Minori, and I'm the Ultimate Harajuku Fashionista**." She smiled kindly at me.

Her hair was purple at the front, a long fringe with two curled pieces framing her face. Her hair was pulled up into two light blue buns, with a ring of red flowers around one bun and an oversized bow on the other. She wore a blue button-up shirt underneath a frilly, purple cardigan, tied at the waist with a bow. Underneath that, she wore a blue lolita skirt, and a pair of light blue platform heels with red bows on the ankle strap. On her cardigan she wore a pin in the shape of a Pokie packet. (Author's Note: 'Pokie' is my knockoff version of Pocky, it doesn't actually exist) Her eyes were wide, full of eyelashes, and she wore light makeup on her face.

It was overwhelming, to say the least.

"Do you know why we're here?" I asked, looking between the two.

"I haven't been able to find any semblance of an exit on this floor." Alastor Yashin said, looking around the room,

"Could this be Future's Hope?" Aimi Minori asked.

"Eh?" I turned to the Harajuku Fashionista, "why would they trap us?"

"Well, if we think about it, it's quite obvious." Alastor Yashin spoke, "try to remember the recent news about Future's Hope."

Recent news?

"Oh, you mean the entrance exam?" Aimi asked.

"Ah, I remember now!" I said.

On the morning of my arrival to Future's Hope, there had been a news report while I was eating breakfast.

 _'Future's Hope Academy's private entrance exams are being brought into question in a new investigation by the Government. The entrance exams; set for students who had already been given the title of 'Ultimate' to assure they were the best, have been under fire for weeks now after the school refused to give information on the exams.'_

"My Mum almost stopped me from going to school this morning because she was worried." Aimi said, twirling a piece of hair.

"What exam would a Harajuku Fashionista talent consist of?" I pondered, more to myself than others.

"Well, it seems we might find out." Alastor said, "this could very well be the exams."

"Oh, that's right!" Aimi grinned.

For some reason that idea didn't sit well with me. I didn't think a school like Future's Hope would put bars on the staircase and knock everyone out before the exams, but then again, they were very secretive. Plus, Kioko Kozakura had said this wasn't Future's Hope...

"I suppose we should explore some more. Seiko, would you like to join us?" Alastor asked, tilting his head.

"Uh...I think I'll search on my own." I said.

"We'll see you later, then. Good luck on your exams!" Aimi tapped my head and turned around, leading the way out of the classroom. Alastor followed, and soon it was just me.

Well...

Me and the cupboard girl.

Not wanting to face her again, I decided to leave and do some searching on my own.

I opened the door to the classroom and stepped out.

The side of the square opposite my room held a long hallway which curved to the right, with a few doors scattered down it. Surprisingly, I could see nobody.

I walked towards one of the doors curiously, and noticed there was a small plaque on it.

 **Seiichi Shigeru**

 **Ultimate Tailor**

I hadn't met him yet.

Wary, but wanting to find a way out, I pressed on the door handle and let myself in.

To a scene of chaos.

"I'm almost...there!" A short boy with spiky black hair was climbing up a rack full of materials set against the wall, at least one storey up and looking extremely shaky. A taller man stood underneath, looking worried. He wore a grey and turquoise uniform, and had silvery hair in a ponytail over his shoulder.

"I must admit, I cannot catch you if you fall. I do not have the strength." The silver-haired man called.

"That's...fine!" The boy shouted back, "because I'm not going to fall!"

"You do realise there is a ladder you can use to reach the material you are looking for, correct?" The man asked.

"If you can't do something yourself, there's no point...doing it!" The boy replied, grunting at the effort of trying to reach the material he was searching for.

From what I could see of him, he wore a smart navy blue and gold pinstriped suit and black shoes, and he had a gold headband in his spiked-up black hair. He was reaching for a similarly patterned material that was very high up, his small frame practically inside the shelf where the material was held.

"Mr. Shigeru, please be careful. A fall from that height can do serious damage." The man's voice got a bit more strained, and I realised who the boy was.

 **Seiichi Shigeru**.

Then...was this a room dedicated to him? Did everybody have rooms dedicated to them?

The boy, Seiichi Shigeru, managed to get a grip on the roll of material, and with a triumphant yell he pulled it towards him.

But that yell quickly turned to panic as the roll of material pulled a second one with it, hitting him square in the chest and knocking him off the shelving, the rolls of material falling as well.

"Watch out!" I shouted.

The silver-haired man looked over, shocked, as I caught Seiichi Shigeru, dodging out of the way of the rolls of material as they clattered to the floor.

There was a moment of tense silence as everyone's nerves settled, and then Shigeru let out a cry of joy.

"My saviour!" He shouted, scrambling out of my arms and righting himself, "can I know the name of the man who saved my life?" He asked, smiling widely. I finally got a good look at him.

He had grey-green eyes and a yellow pincushion on his right wrist, two gold pins crossed over each other adorning his suit's breast pocket. He had a black shirt and gold tie underneath his suit, and a safety pin in one ear. His smile showed off two vampire-like teeth. Two measuring tapes were hung around his neck and wrapped around his hips like a belt, and his shoes were tied with gold laces.

"I'm Asahi Seiko." I said, reaching out gingerly to shake his hand, "Ultimate Parkour Expert."

"Woah, parkour!" Seiichi grinned, "what a cool talent!"

"You must be Seiichi Shigeru, then." I said.

"You stole my introduction." The boy laughed a little, " **I'm the Ultimate Tailor!** My goal in life is to make everyone's clothing fit perfectly!"

Unsure of what to say next, I merely nodded, offering an awkward smile.

"Mr. Seiko, was it?" A voice asked from behind me. Turning around, I saw the taller man.

"That's right." I said.

"My name is **Tamotsu Ryuunosuke. I am the Ultimate Cello Player.** I am pleased to meet you." The man - Tamotsu - said.

He had silvery-grey hair in a long ponytail over his left shoulder, with a small, unruly piece of hair curling up at the top of his head. He had pale skin and eyes, which were a blueish colour. He wore a white school shirt underneath a grey blazer with turquoise lining the sleeves, pockets, and collar. He wore simple grey pants and turquoise school shoes, finishing with a sheer turquoise scarf which wrapped over his shoulders.

"It's nice to meet you." I said. He was way taller than me.

"Well, after that...quite spectacular show you put on for us, Mr. Shigeru, I must ask you; what did you need that material for?" Tamotsu asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Eh? You don't notice?" Shigeru asked.

"I suppose I haven't." The Ultimate Cello Player replied.

Seiichi snorted and crossed his arms.

"Seiko, do you notice?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I furrowed my brows. He was asking me?

Frowning, I gave him a once-over, before shrugging.

"I don't notice anything." I said.

Mmmm," He narrowed his eyes at me, "look again."

I did.

And I saw nothing.

When I told Seiichi that, he snorted angrily, hopped past everyone and grabbed the material off the floor, inspecting it, "not exactly the same, but it'll have to do." He sighed, hauling it over his shoulder.

Ignored, then.

"This is ridiculous. I need to fix it right now." He mumbled to himself.

"What's there to fix?" I asked, curious.

"What's there to fix? Excuse me, Seiko, have you _seen_ my suit?" Seiichi glared at me, "it's way too tight! I don't know who put this on me, because I could never wear clothes this poorly fitted! Look at this! It hugs all the wrong curves!" He pointed at his midsection, which I could see nothing strange of.

"It looks fine to me." I said.

"Well, I guess it figures. Considering what you're wearing, I assume clothes that fit well aren't the most important thing to you." He said it with no malice, merely an observation, but it still stung a little.

"My clothes fit!" I replied, regretting it immediately. Seiichi spun around, the material in his arms fluttering in the wind he had caused. He raised an eyebrow and scanned me up and down.

"I'll tell you what. You come in here later, and I'll measure you. Then give me some of your clothes and I'll fit them properly." He said, spinning again, "everyone will learn the magic of properly tailored clothing!" He cried, moving to the sewing machine on a table in the middle of the room. He unbuttoned his blazer and pulled it off, beginning to take measurements with the measuring tape he had taken off from around his neck.

Looking around the room, I found myself in awe. It was very classy, the theme of it mostly black and gold, the only other colours from the materials rack. The wallpaper was mostly black with gold patterns on it, and the floor was a dark wood, matching the tables and chairs in the room. The material racks took up most of the room, starting from the very front where the door was to over three quarters down the room, leaving only a small space for what looked like a changing room; three full-length mirrors at angles around a square podium, with a curtain that could be pulled around it hanging loosely on one side. In place of a person sat a half-dressed mannequin, it's gold colour shining in the lights. On the far wall stood a row of black and gold filing cabinets, inside what I assumed were sewing supplies. On the wall opposite the changing room were two rows of mannequins, the same gold colour as the first one, in neat rows. They were all in various states of dress.

"It is quite an exquisite room, isn't it?" Tamotsu had come up next to me, and he was looking around as well.

"Is there a room for all of us?" I asked.

"I don't believe I have seen more than two or three other rooms with student's names on them." The Cello Player replied, sighing.

"Could it be something to do with the exams?" I replied, thinking back to Aimi Minori's statement.

"Possibly." Tamotsu replied, shaking his head, "but I do not understand why Future's Hope would send us to such a remote location."

"They're very secretive..." I drifted off.

Surely they wouldn't go to all this effort for an exam, right?

Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair.

Something felt off, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

But if I could search around more, I'm sure I would be able to find some evidence of what was happening.

"I think I'm going to look around more." I told Tamotsu. The Cello Player nodded.

"I should stay here and make sure Mr. Shigeru does not threaten himself further." He replied.

With a wave, I left the room, walking down the hallway to the second door.

But as I pressed the handle down to enter, something curious caught my eye.

Behind me was a large, square door, half black, half white. It looked like it was the type of door which split in the middle, but it had no visible handle...

Shaking my head, I turned back to the other door. I could investigate that later, but right now I needed to find out if there were any other people here. I pressed on the handle and walked inside, to a surprisingly warm room.

It looked like a lounge.

On one side, two modern-ish couches sat in front of an empty fireplace, a world map in a frame on the wall with various places marked with colourful pins. What should have been windows only held bricks, painted the same white as the walls and holding various frames; images of different cities. The opposite side of the room held a massive bookshelf, table and chair, and two girls who hadn't seemed to notice me yet, speaking in what seemed to be another language while pointing to various images on the wall, laughing often.

It suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't checked the name on the door.

"H-hello?" I asked, almost a whisper.

The girls noticed me anyway, and the first one turned around, jumping a little.

She had brown hair in two large ponytails over her shoulders and matching brown eyes. She wore a half-untucked white and red shirt, with a collar that looked like a Japanese school uniform, but it was button-up instead. Under that she wore a skirt which clung to her waist and hips before flowing out in pleats to her mid-thigh. She wore red shoes and calf-length white socks.

She tapped her friend on the shoulder, and the other girl spun.

This one wore a basic Japanese school uniform, pastel purple in colour and with long-sleeves. She had a pink tie at the front and black hair in two short ponytails. She had purple eyes, black knee-high socks and purple school shoes on her feet. A black choker necklace was the only accessory she wore, and a pink armband with the title 'translator' on it.

"Hello," I ran my hand through my hair, shuffling awkwardly, "I'm, ah, Asahi Seiko. The Ultimate Parkour Expert. Sorry for barging in."

It suddenly occurred to me that I had done a whole lot of barging into places and not a lot of knocking.

"Oh, it's fine!" One of the girls said. I looked up to see the one in purple coming up to me, smiling brightly, "It's not like the door has a lock on it. **My name is Rouko Soba, and I'm the Ultimate Translator.** **This is** **Kyung Hye, the Ultimate Exchange Student.** She can't speak very good Japanese, so I'll be translating for her!"

"Yeoboseyo..." The other girl, Kyung Hye, waved at me. She was very soft spoken, and gave off a kind aura.

"Uh, it's nice to meet you." I smiled at Kyung. The Exchange Student paused for a moment, her brows furrowing in thought, before what looked to be realisation came across her face and she grinned.

"It is nice...to meet...you, too." She replied, in a somewhat stilted pronunciation.

Surprised that she could speak Japanese, I was about to say something when suddenly the door burst open behind me.

"Where's the fuckin' exit!?" A voice shouted, making me jump.

Kyung Hye screamed and leaped backwards, followed soon after by Rouko Soba, who immediately stood protectively in front of the Exchange Student.

Afraid of who was behind me, I spun slowly.

A boy with neon green hair poking out of a blue bike helmet stood in the doorway, a particularly angry look on his face, pink eyes shining.

He wore a green and pink Lycra suit under blue overalls which were rolled up at the ends to make way for the pair of neon green rollerblades on his feet. He was muscular, scarily so, and I feared if I spoke I would incur his wrath.

"Well?" He asked, voice gruff, "where's the exit?"

"I don't know!" Rouko shouted.

"What about you?" He poked his finger into my chest, "white-haired whatever. Where's the exit?"

"I-I don't know either. Nobody does." I replied, putting my hands up in mock surrender. The boy made a 'tch' sound and crossed his arms.

"Who...are you?" Kyung Hye asked, "Are you an...Ultimate?"

"Are you blind? **I'm the Ultimate speed skater.** Award-winning speed skater, might I add. **Ever heard the name Michi Katsu?** " He asked, snorting, "you don't look the type to be into that kinda...sporty stuff, so I don't blame you." He rolled his eyes.

"D-Don't speak to Kyung like that!" Rouko shouted.

"I'll speak to whoever I want to however I want to!" Michi Katsu stared us all down, "I'm the most important Ultimate here!" seeing none of us had any information to give, Michi Katsu flipped us off and turned around, skating away.

There was silence as everyone tried to register what had just happened.

"What makes you the most important?!" Rouko Soba suddenly shouted. She ran up to the doorway, looked around, and slammed the door, turning back to Kyung Hye.

"Are you okay?" She asked, suddenly softer again. The Exchange Student took a few breaths and nodded.

"You two seem to know each other well." I said.

"Hm? Oh, right." Rouko grinned, "back at Future's Hope, I was her designated Translator...well, the only Translator that could speak Korean, anyway." She pulled on the ties of her uniform nervously.

"You are..." Kyung paused, "the best."

"Nah." Rouko blushed and looked to the floor, "I'm surprised I've even made it far enough to be considered an Ultimate. I could still fail an exam." She kicked at the floor.

"Wait, do you remember how you got here?" I asked.

"Uhhhm..." Rouko frowned, "I'm not sure, actually. I can only remember meeting Kyung and being told I'm her translator..."

"It is...strange." Kyung said.

The two seemed to fall into thought, and seeing nothing else to do, I decided to make a silent exit, closing the door quietly behind me. I glanced around to check for rogue terrifying Speed Skaters, but seeing nobody I decided to check out the big door.

When I got closer to it, I suddenly noticed that there was more hallway. I looked down it, but saw only two doors; a pair of double doors and, opposite that, a singular one, both with plaques on them.

They must be Ultimate rooms too.

But there was something more important.

The black and white wall with the split in the middle was twice the height of me, and surrounding it was an intricate pattern of golden metal, twisting around like vines, small thorns poking out. At the top the vines shaped themselves around a red, spiky shape which I couldn't quite make out from down here.

"The door...holds danger." I jumped at the voice, and when I looked over and saw the green-haired girl from the cupboard I yelped and skittered away, terrified. She regarded me with disinterested red eyes, tilting her head to the side.

"You exist!" I shouted accidentally, clapping my hands over my mouth.

Idiot, Asahi. You're an idiot.

"You are afraid." She said. I didn't respond, merely staring at her, ready to run if she made any sudden movements. After a few moments of silence, the girl sighed dejectedly and sat on the ground, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"Who are you?" I whispered, morbid curiosity getting the better of me, "why did you scare me like that earlier?"

"Heh?" The girl asked.

"You were sitting in a cupboard mumbling about danger." I said. Silently, I pointed at my wrist, which still had a red mark.

"Oh," The girl looked up at me, "apologies."

"What's your name?" I asked, relaxing a little. If she was on the ground, she couldn't come at me so fast.

I hoped.

" **Rei.** " The girl paused, " **Amaterasu. Ultimate Exorcist.** "

"Exorcist?!" I shouted, incredulous.

"Heh?" Rei Amaterasu frowned at me.

"How do you even get accepted for a talent like that? How do they test it?" I asked.

"Spirits exist." She said, then pointed to the door, "and there is...danger."

I looked to the door. It's monolithic size was scary enough, but knowing now that it held 'danger' made it even spookier, though I wasn't even sure I could trust Rei Amaterasu's deductions.

After all, an Exorcist sounded like something out of a film. I had to question Future's Hope's standards for acceptance; surely they had some limits on who they would let in.

"My talent," Rei stood, "is valid."

Did she read my mind?!

She stared at me for what seemed like forever, her dull eyes never blinking, and I couldn't help but feel threatened, like she was going to knock me down and feed me to the ghosts she exorcised or something.

Almost without noticing, my hands brought themselves up into a fighting position.

"Heh." Rei Amaterasu tilted her head at me, then turned and walked away without another word, leaving me confused and no less on edge than before.

I waited until Rei had disappeared around the corner, then turned to the opposite direction, facing the hallway I hadn't explored yet. Ignoring the want to check over my shoulder, I made my way to the first set of doors; a pair of fancy double doors, the plaque on the front reading

 **Yuudai Kenen**

 **Ultimate Theatre Manager**

I pressed down on the door handle and stepped inside without hesitation, curious.

As the room opened out before me, I found my breath caught in my throat.

Rows upon rows of theatre seats seemed to go on forever before me, only stopping at a massive stage that took up the entire back wall. The entire space looked like it was brand new; from the beautiful architecture to the clean smell of the place, it looked like it hadn't been used by anybody.

"As expected from Future's Hope Academy." A voice suddenly said, and I jumped. Looking to my right, I noticed a boy in the sound booth, leaning against the small wall that separated him from the chairs, his eyes glittering and a wide smile on his face.

He had brown hair flipped over to the right side of his face, with the left side shaved. His eyes, a matching brown, were mostly hidden behind black-framed glasses, and he wore a black T-shirt with an incomprehensible word on it, an unbuttoned white school shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a yellow vest covered in pins, badges and other oddities. He had a black twine bracelet on his left hand, and a circular earring in his left ear.

"It's...incredible." I managed to say. The boy smiled even wider at that, and leaped over the wall, coming over to me. He wore yellow three-quarter jeans under an orange pair of suspenders and a pair of black, high-top sneakers on the bottom half.

"It's even better when you know how everything works! The sound board is like something out of the future, it's so smart, and the lighting booth has types of lighting I've never even seen before! Also, I can't believe this, but there's a dress circle and a crying room!" He gushed.

"Crying room?" I asked.

"Oh." He fixed his glasses and cleared his throat, "viewing room. We in the theatre industry call it the 'crying room' because that's usually where they stick parents with loud kids." He laughed a little, "anyway, I should probably introduce myself. **I'm Yuudai Kenen, the Ultimate Theatre Manager.** "

"Uh, I'm Asahi Seiko. The Ultimate Parkour Expert." I replied, nodding to him. The boy, Yuudai's, face lit up.

"Parkour! I love parkour. I mean, I've never done it, but I've seen others, and it looks fun!" He said.

"Oh, really? That's cool." I replied. But Yuudai didn't seem too interested in my response.

"I haven't been backstage yet, so it would be great to bring someone with me!" He said distractedly. He ran over and gripped my arm, giving me no choice in the matter, and tugged me onto the stage and through the curtains, finally letting go as he gasped in joy and wonder.

I had almost fallen over when he let go of me, but as I looked up from the ground I noticed what he had been excited about.

It was like a different world.

Rolls of posters, what I assumed would be backdrops or something, sat in shelves twice my height, and racks of props, costumes, and all sorts of Knick knacks sat in designated spots around the backstage area, which was absolutely massive. It was like a maze; the whole place went for ages ahead of me and then veered left. There was extra storage behind the stage as well; another hall veering to the right. The whole space made me feel faint, the sheer size of it throwing me completely off guard. It was almost impossibly grand, and I had to force myself to remember; this was a school.

But...

Future's Hope was rich; I knew that. But how much money did it _have_?

"Am I dreaming?" Yuudai whispered, stumbling forwards, brushing his hands against a costume rack. He gripped the material between his hands, picked it up, pressed it against his face, and I heard a delighted cry come from inside the material.

Unsure of where to go, I found myself wandering to a props rack, eyeing up everything on there. There was everything, from teapots to figurines, fake computers to surprisingly realistic weapons, and even, strangely enough, oddly specific name plates.

I picked up one of the books, flicking through it, and saw that all the pages were empty. The cover was there; the book was not. I placed it back on the shelf, eyeing up everything else.

Those weapons...

Slowly, I reached over to pick one up; a sword in a golden sheath, and slid it out of its casing, inspecting the shining silver of the weapon. It looked almost...real. It was heavy enough to be.

"Hey, Seiko." The voice was right next to my ear. With a shout, I whipped around, the sword going with me, and Yuudai, in a panic, gripped the blade part of it, stopping me.

There was a brief second as I realised who he was and relaxed, but that didn't last long, as Yuudai immediately threw his hand up, yelling in pain.

I looked down at the sword to see neon pink dripping from it.

My heart dropped with the sword, and I immediately started shouting myself.

"I think I've lost my fingers!" Yuudai screamed, shaking his hand around.

"Is there first aid in here?!" I cried.

"The horror! The horror! I can't feel my hand!" Tears ran from the Ultimate Theatre Manager's eyes, and I couldn't bear to look at his injured hand, too afraid of what I might see.

"Is there a doctor?" I screamed, hoping someone would hear me.

Yuudai fell to his knees, holding his bleeding hand up to the sky, gripping his wrist with his opposite hand.

"What is life but a series of inspired follies? Oh, hell is empty and all the devils are here. I shall never continue this talent of mine!" And with that, Yuudai collapsed to the floor, cradling his hand. Still not knowing what to do, I went to my T-shirt, gripping the bottom of it and trying to rip the material. I'd seen this in movies. I just had to stem the flow of blood, and then...and then-

"And, scene."

I paused.

"Hey, Asahi. What're you doing?" Yuudai was sitting up, wiping his hand on a nearby costume. He had a cheeky smile on his face, and as I watched, mouth slowly falling open, he showed me his 'injured' hand and wiggled his fingers.

"Wait...wh-ha-what?" I asked, voice quiet.

"I may be a theatre manager, but I'm also a talented actor. Also, fake blood packs come in handy." Yuudai sighed, "don't worry about the weapons, they're fake."

He went to grab the sword by its blade again, and was about to pull it towards him when a strange look came over his face. He let go of the sword and ran his finger over the edge, frown growing even deeper.

"It seems the fool doth think he is wise." Yuudai mumbled, standing. He pointed to the sword. "That thing's real."

"E-eh?!" I asked, looking down at it.

"Hold on a minute." Yuudai bent down, grabbed the handle of the sword, and picked it up. "Who knew real swords were so heavy?" He asked.

"W-what are you gonna do with that?" I asked meekly, taking a step away. Yuudai looked at me, tilted his head, and laughed a little.

"Put it away." His smile faded, though.

"Why would Future's Hope have real weapons in their theatre?" I asked.

"Maybe they accidentally switched the talent room's weapons for the assassin and the theatre manager." Yuudai laughed, fixing his glasses again. He was really lighthearted about the situation, serious as it was.

"But-" I was stopped.

"I'll just talk to the teachers about it. I'm sure they didn't mean to." Yuudai waved his hand airily, leading the way out onto the stage, "for now, we can just forget about it, since we aren't using them for anything." He stretched, staring out at the empty audience. I stared at the empty seats as well, and felt a fear coming up on me. How could people do this?

After a couple of minutes of silence, I decided to leave and continue exploring. I said goodbye to Yuudai and made my way towards the last door of the hall.

 **Fuyutake Ganko**

 **Ultimate Graffiti Artist**

The plaque looked like it had been spray painted on, but a quick feel of it told me it was, indeed, the same metal as the other doors' plaques.

I didn't know what to expect as I opened the door, but it certainly wasn't what I came across.

The room was blank, empty, a cube of concrete walls, different heights and shapes of wall spaced out around the room randomly like a maze, made of different materials, with a small door at the back of the room. It was utterly uninspiring.

Yet, in the middle of it, I saw two people, one with a spray can in hand, making art on one of the brick walls in the centre of the room. The other one, a girl I hadn't met yet, coached the first person, a face mask covering her mouth and nose, muffling her voice. She had blonde hair in two long plaits, green eyes, and wore a revealing white school shirt, short maroon skirt, black wellington boots and over-the-knee maroon socks. Her shirt and boots were decorated with small circle patches, though I couldn't figure out what the design meant. I had never seen any school logos that looked like that.

The other person...Kaida Satsuki, was spraying different things onto the wall, but nothing looked terribly good.

"You can get different textures using your hand. If you hold it over the spray can, you get a thinner line...oh, hello. You're new." The girl waved. Kaida spun as well, seeing me, and pulled her face mask off, grinning.

"Yo, fanboy!" She finger-gunned at me.

Oof.

"His name is Fanboy? That's different." The blonde girl grinned, "well, Fanboy. **My name is Fuyutake Ganko, and I'm the Ultimate Graffiti Artist.** It's nice to meetcha!" She said.

"Uhm, my name isn't Fanboy...it's Asahi. Asahi Seiko, the Ultimate Parkour Expert." I said, running my hand through my hair.

"Oh, that makes more sense. Seiko, was it? Cool name." Fuyutake Ganko said.

"Thanks." I replied.

"Have you met everyone else yet?" Kaida asked me, tilting her head.

"Oh, uh..." Quickly, I counted all the names I had learnt on my fingers, "I've met fourteen people." I said.

"That should be everyone, then." Kaida grinned.

"Wait, hang on. I've met fifteen people." Fuyutake frowned, looking at her fingers.

"Did we miss somebody?" I asked.

"Uhhh, what if we go over names?" Kaida offered.

"No good. I can't remember everyone's names off by heart." Fuyutake shook her head.

"So there's a mystery student." Kaida grinned, maybe we should go and find them." She turned to leave, but suddenly a high-pitched noise stopped us all in our tracks.

It was the kind of sound that gave physical pain, and I hurriedly clenched my hands over my ears to try and stop it, but it didn't work. It seemed to last forever, but finally, it stopped, and was replaced by a weirdly-pitched voice.

Not unlike one I had heard before...

"Ahem. Attention, students of Future's Hope Academy! We are about to begin the welcoming ceremony, so could you all gather in the gymnasium as soon as possible! Strict consequences will be given to those who do not arrive promptly." And with that, the room was silent again.

"Geez, what an awful noise." Fuyutake shook her head, "you think a school like this would at least have a good speaker system."

"Still, we should probably go." Kaida said.

I was more worried about the consequences. The way whoever was speaking had said that made it sound somewhat menacing...either way, I didn't want a detention on my first day at school.

Hurriedly, I followed the Graffiti Artist and Woodworker out of the room, and a couple of minutes later we were all pushing the doors to the gymnasium open. I hadn't been inside yet, so when I actually saw the place for the first time, I was surprised.

Other than the surprisingly small group of students in the hall (one would have expected more from a welcoming ceremony), I noticed how strange the gymnasium looked. On one side, there were two water coolers, looking brand new, and on the other were a couple of couches, a rug and a low table. The front of the room had a decently-sized stage (though smaller than the one in Yuudai's talent room), and a red curtain was pulled all the way across the back wall. A podium stood in the middle of the stage, bearing the Future's Hope logo in its signature white and gold.

I looked back to the group to notice that both Fuyutake and Kaida had separated, leaving me alone at the door. I looked around, trying to find someone I could talk to, but everyone seemed to be in their own groups already. I was about to move towards Seiichi and Alastor when, suddenly, a loud noise boomed from the stage and the lights shut off. A few gasps went around the room.

"What the fuck's happenin'?!" Michi Katsu's voice rang out in the dark.

"I'm scared!" Kioko Kozakura cried.

"Can whoever's grabbing my leg get off?" Sora Yukiko shouted.

"Heh?" Rei Amaterasu said.

"What kinda welcoming ceremony starts with a blackout?!" Yuudai Kenen asked, "I'm all for drama, but this is way overboard."

Suddenly a light turned on, gaining everyone's attention.

It shone from behind the podium, silhouetting us in a golden haze. But there was something else. A shape stood behind; no, atop the podium, slouched. From what I could see of it, it had...cat ears?

"Hey, is that the principal?" Kaida Satsuki murmured in the silence. Her question was answered almost immediately as a booming explosion of confetti rained down over the stage, followed by a spotlight switching on, lighting up the podium to its full extent.

The last few confetti flakes fell to the floor.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the scene.

Our principal...or who we assumed to be the principal, was in fact a half-black, half-white cat toy.

Well, it couldn't really be called a toy. The black half was definitely too scary for a child. It had a red eye, spiky and horrific-looking, and a wide, sharp-toothed smile curled all the way up its cheek, finally finishing just below the eye. The cat ear on that side was broken, and sharp claws sat on the paw.

Everyone stared in shocked silence.

Then Sora Yukiko spoke up.

"The fuck is this?" She asked, walking up the stairs to the stage and podium. She leaned in close, staring at the bear, then poked it.

"Sora, what are you-" Kaida ran forward to stop the other girl, but she was interrupted as suddenly a loud screech came from above the stage, forcing us all to block our ears. Sora was so shocked she leapt back off the stage, landing on the ground in a crouch. Just as I thought my ears were going to start bleeding, the screech stopped, and silence prevailed for a few seconds before a crackly, distorted voice began to speak.

"Ahem, is this thing working? Aw man, I can't believe Monoko broke! I musta got a faulty model. Tch, figures. Stupid Ultimate Roboticist." An exasperated sigh emanated from the speakers.

"Who is that?" Seiichi asked, glaring at the stage.

"Well, anyway, looks like I'll have to employ the back-up plan. Everyone, check your pockets, bras, underpants, wherever you usually keep your phones. I put a gift in there for you! Though I don't understand how anyone who had a gift in their underpants wouldn't feel it..." The voice stopped.

We listened for anything else, but that was it. That was all it gave us.

There was a confused silence.

 _Beeeep beeeep!_

The noise rang through the room with surprising volume.

 _'Welcome to your E-Pad!'_ A nasally voice said.

"Woah, guys! Look what I just found!" The Ultimate Graffiti Artist, Fuyutake Ganko, gestured for us all to come closer. She was holding a small tablet in her hand, where, presumably, the nasally voice had been coming from.

 _'Welcome, Student no. 23! Your name is Fuyutake Ganko. This is your own, personal E-Pad which will supply you with a floor plan, rules and regulations, and handy dandy tips from yoooour favourite cuddly, compassionate mascot, Monoko!'_

A black and white cat with the same design as the one that was on stage was animated in the corner of the screen of the tablet, like some kind of weird tutorial.

 _'If this hasn't been explained to you already, you will be participating in a Killing Game. Here are the specific rules for that Killing Game.'_

"Killing game?!" Yuudai shouted.

"Shut up, it's still talking." Fuyutake replied.

 _'Rule no. 1! Nighttime is at 10'o clock sharp, so be sure to get into your little beds by that time, or, if you want to brave going out at night, be assured that some areas are completely off limits! These areas include the Talent Rooms and Hall. If you enter these areas, watch out! If you do-'_

The barrel of a machine gun suddenly popped up on screen, shooting loudly towards a small group of faceless characters. I jumped.

 _'Rule no. 2! Don't mess with the Monoko's or your surroundings. That means no blowing us up or stabbing us in the chest! That hurts! Don't punch holes in walls or kick doors down either! We don't have the budget to fix that. If you do break one of these rules, watch out! If you do-'_

The same gun animation played.

'Rule no. 3! Now we're getting into the fun stuff! After a murder, you will be requested to participate in a class trial! Note: you cannot refuse a request. The class trial will find out the murderer, or the 'Blackened', as we call them, and they will be punished accordingly! If you pick the wrong person, though-'

Gun animation.

 _'Rule no. 4! There has to be a minimum of three people present for the body discovery announcement to be played!_

 _'Rule no. 5! You must investigate the murder! If you decide to hide in a corner from all your problems and not participate fully in the class trial because you have no evidence and didn't bother trying to find any because your wittle friend over there was murdered, well-'_

Gun animation.

 _'Rule no. 6! You must listen to everything I, Monoko, and my owner, who will remain nameless, says! If we want you to dance, you dance! If we want you to kill, you kill! No exceptions, I'm afraid~!_

 _'Rule no. 7! A Motive will be given before every murder. The most recent motive is: Unknown. Past motives have been: Not Applicable. After every murder, a new floor will be unlocked! Floors you have unlocked are: Floor Four. Floors yet to be unlocked are: Not Applicable._

 _'Rule no. 8! Have fun, kiddos! Let the Killing Game begin!'_

The animated bear, Monoko, I guess, blew itself up, leaving us with an image of Fuyutake's face next to her information.

I snuck a look.

 **No: 23**

 **Name: Fuyutake Ganko**

 **Height: 5'4 / 164.5 cm**

 **Weight: 120 lbs / 54.4 kgs**

 **Birth date: December 12 (Sagittarius)**

 **Ultimate: Graffiti Artist**

"Oooh, a sagittarius!" Seiichi leaned over the pad, "I'm a Leo! This should be the start of a great friendship!"

"I don't think so." Fuyutake pulled the pad away from him and switched it off, poking her tongue out.

"Where did you get that?" Aimi asked.

"I found it in my pocket." Fuyutake replied.

There was a moment of quiet as everyone began emptying their pockets. Finally, all the pads had been found and were being switched on and examined thoroughly. I opened mine, watched the rules video, and was immediately taken to my student card.

 **No: 12**

 **Name: Asahi Seiko**

 **Height: 5'5 / 167.6 cm**

 **Weight: 114 lbs / 51.7 kgs**

 **Birth Date: October 28 (Libra)**

 **Ultimate: Parkour Expert**

"This is strange. It knows everything about us." Tamotsu said.

"Not everything. It doesn't know my secret!" Eiji grinned, poking his tongue out.

"Woah, you have a secret?" Kioko asked.

"I'm not telling youuu!" Eiji replied.

"What's with these numbers, anyway?" I asked, pointing to Kioko's tablet.

 **No: 34**

 **Name: Kioko Kozakura**

 **Height: 5'3 / 161.5 cm**

 **Weight: 110 lbs / 49.8 kgs**

 **Birth Date: March 30 (Aries)**

 **Ultimate: Board Gamer**

"I don't understand it either." Fuyutake said, eyeing up her number.

"There's only sixteen of us here, so why would my number be thirty-four?" Kioko asked.

"Hmmm." I frowned, looking at our pads. The numbers. What did they mean? Were there more of us?

"Maybe the numbers are how attractive we are!" Seiichi cried out suddenly, "I mean, seeing as I'm number one..."

"Ha! More like how perverted you are!" Sora replied.

"I was asking for your clothes so I could tailor them!" Seiichi whined.

"I don't believe you." Sora harrumphed, crossing her arms.

I watched as Seiichi had a short battle with himself, before finally shaking his fist at Sora and turning on his heel, staring at his E-Pad.

"Hey, we can see everyone else's information here too." Michi Katsu said, tapping the screen. I looked over at his as he moved through multiple people's bios in quick succession before finally landing on his own again.

 **No. 15**

 **Name: Michi Katsu**

 **Height: 5'7 / 173.7 cm**

 **Weight: 160 lbs / 72.5 kg**

 **Birth Date: August 1 (Leo)**

 **Ultimate: Speed Skater**

"Okay, that's interesting and all, but are we going to talk about what that Monoko thing said?" Aimi Minori suddenly spoke up from behind me.

"He was talking about a killing game of some sort, correct?" Tamotsu Ryuunosuke asked.

"Mmhmm, exactly. Does anyone know what that's about?" Aimi asked.

Everyone stayed silent.

"Well, it's obviously a prank." Yuudai Kenen suddenly spoke up, "I don't see any killing happening." The Theatre Manager shrugged.

"And there's cameras over there." Kaida spoke up, pointing to a corner of the room.

I looked over, and sure enough, there was a white CCTV camera attached to the wall, aimed at us, not unlike the one that had been in my room.

"How did I not notice that before?" I asked.

"'Cause you're a fanboy." Sora sighed.

"Fanboy? Who's a fanboy? Where's the fanboy? I've always wanted to learn the ways of fanboys!" Eiji Hikou pressed his hands to his face, scrunching his cheeks up.

"There is no way he's in the same age range as us." Seiichi gaped.

"Alright, that's it. Who called the prank patrol? I want out! Scotty, where are you?" Michi Katsu shouted at the ceiling.

"You watched prank patrol?" Fuyutake snorted.

"It's a good show! Plus, they translated it into Japanese when I was watching it, so..." Michi harrumphed, "You know what? I don't fuckin care about what any of you plebs have to say! I'm Michi Fuckin' Katsu, and I make the trends!" He shouted.

"Woah, your middle name is Fuckin'? Your family is weird." Kioko said.

"Uh, no it isn't, idiot. What are you meant to be, anyway? The Ultimate Weeb?" Michi asked snidely.

"I'm the Ultimate Board Gamer!" Kioko replied, glaring at him.

"More like the Ultimate Failure." Michi gave her a thumbs-down.

"Oh really? I dare you to try and beat me in a game of chess!" Kioko shouted.

"Well I dare you to beat me in an arm wrestle!" Michi replied.

"Well I dare you to beat _me_ in an escape room game!" Kioko stepped closer to him.

"I dare _you_ to beat _me_ in a speed skating race!" Michi skated closer to her.

"I _dare_ you to beat me in a game of Life!" Kioko was right up in his face...or as much as she could be, given her height.

"I'd beat you in _anything, anyday!_ " Michi Katsu leered.

"I'd like to see you _try!_ " Kioko growled.

"I'm gonna touch it!" A voice suddenly shouted from behind us. It had distracted both Kioko and Michi, and we all looked over to see Eiji trying to reach the CCTV camera. He ran up, jumped, and missed, hitting the wall instead and landing hard.

"Jeez, you're so reckless." Aimi said, "How anyone would trust you to fly a plane, I'll never know."

"This has to be a prank." I said, "Nobody would be this relaxed if it wasn't a prank."

"I don't care what it is, I just want to leave." Kaida sighed, kicking the ground.

"Ah, that reminds me." I turned to Kaida, "Have you found a way out?"

"I haven't seen one." She replied, "but there's a bunch of bars blocking the way down the stairs. I don't understand why."

"I can help with that!" Kioko suddenly shouted.

"What?" I asked.

"I was eavesdropping on your conversation and it made me remember something!" The shorter girl pulled open her 'piece-pouch' and rummaged around in it for a moment before pulling something small out triumphantly. It looked like the King piece of a chess game.

"Are we going to throw that at the bars? Or play a game of chess to get through? This ain't a puzzle game." Michi said sarcastically.

"Follow me!" Kioko said, ignoring him. She led the way towards the hall, and pressed her hands to the door, pushing.

It didn't open.

"Eh?" She pushed again, to no avail.

"Maybe they need a big push." Alastor stepped up to the door and pushed it, hard, but nothing happened.

"Y'all are idiots. It's a pull door." Sora gripped the handle and tugged on it.

Nothing.

"The spirits." A quiet voice came from the back of the group, and everyone turned to see Rei Amaterasu pointing to the door.

"The spirits?" Aimi asked.

"Locked the doors." Rei finished.

"Ha! As if." Michi took a big skate-up and slammed shoulder-first into the door, only succeeding in bouncing back and falling in a heap.

"Ha! I could beat you in opening locked doors anyday!" Kioko laughed.

"Try me!" Michi replied, righting himself quite ungracefully.

"Oh! I'll try!" Eiji Hikou ran up and began pulling on the door, almost climbing halfway up the opposite door as he pulled with all his might.

"It is not budging at all." Tamotsu tilted his head.

"Well, now is the right time to introduce myself properly!" A voice came from behind us, and we all spun quickly.

The sight before us struck fear into our hearts.

The cat, which had been silent and unmoving since it arrived, was now standing on the podium, a sharp red eye glaring out at us like a beacon of despair, the light shining from behind it casting it in a silhouette.

"Welcome, kiddos, to your wooooorst nightmare! The most horrific time of your lives! This, kiddos, is no prank! It is no fake! Your killing school semester starts here, and there is no way to escape!" The cat shouted.

We merely stared in shock.

My heart dropped into my stomach.

I couldn't think.

This thing...was alive?

Suddenly, the speakers crackled to life.

"Ha! Haha! How do you like that? Monoko is up, running, and stunningly perfect!" The PA crackled and went silent.

"Thaaaat's right, kiddos!" The cat, Monoko, shouted.

Kioko was the first to react.

With an ear-piercing scream, she gripped the door and began to tug and push at it, trying to get out. But her struggling was to no avail, and though Eiji also ran over and tried to help, the two only ended up clinging onto each other, pressed against the door.

Yuudai and Fuyutake pushed closer to each other, eyes wide. Alastor, Seiichi, Rouko and Kyung all helped a boy who I hadn't noticed before as he fainted, bobbing down around him and shielding him from view as they fussed. Rei began murmuring about curses, and Tamotsu and Aimi teamed up to help others.

Sora made to run for the stage, but Kaida stopped her, gripping her arm tightly and pulling her backwards.

But nobody stopped Michi as he rollerbladed his way through the group, and I watched in slow-motion as he reached the stage, skidded to a stop and made a grab for the cat.

Shocked into action, I ran to the stage as well, grabbing Michi and pulling him away.

" _GET OFF ME, BASTARD!_ " He shouted, yanking his arm out of my grip.

"Katsu, don't-!" I replied, running for him again.

"Violence against Principal Monoko is strictly forbidden!" Monoko shouted, and as I grabbed Michi the cat pulled out a button and pressed it, and suddenly the world went white and I couldn't hear or see anything but a ringing in my ears and I felt myself fall, felt the ground on my knees, and then my senses came back...

Grey.

All that surrounded me was grey.

But it wasn't a grey which could be touched.

It wasn't the grey of walls and floors, or the grey of clothing.

It was a hazy, smoky grey. Like a thick fog. I could see the floorboards, barely, and I could see my hand, barely, but I couldn't see anything else.

A ball of panic began its slow crawl up my throat, and with it came an unfamiliar sensation of the cup filling, the world becoming too much for me. I heard a voice on the PA, a voice I recognised, but it sounded like it was coming from inside my head as well as far, far away at the same time. The panic reached the surface, the water overflowed, and my vision seemed to narrow until it was only one singular point, a singular piece of flooring.

Water hit my back but it felt like knives, my mouth went dry, my body froze in place as I stared at this singular point, my brain trying to understand what was happening while simultaneously shutting down. My senses heightened further, I felt the knives dig in deeper, I felt the shirt clinging to my back, watching as droplets of water fell down my nose and onto the floor, each drop going in slow motion but also too fast to see. I felt the blood running through my veins, the heart beating in my chest, the nails on my fingers. It felt like I was being pulled every which way, like I was tied to the front of a train which was about to drop over a cliff, and my stomach dropped and my breathing fastened and everything was too much, all too much...

I leaped up and ran for the doors, making a desperate bid for escape. I reached them, the logical part of my brain telling me they were locked, I couldn't leave, but I still rammed my shoulder into them.

Closed.

Locked.

Trapped.

I felt myself sliding towards the floor, and I dropped my head into my hands, trying to calm myself.

I was sweating, but it was cold. My hands shook, my brain was a tangled mess of thoughts, like a child scribbling on a piece of paper.

"Calm down." I whispered to myself. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, focusing on just that, just my breathing. And as I did that, I began to feel it.

The ground beneath my feet. The water dripping onto my clothes. It was passing.

I was okay.

A few moments later, I reopened my eyes, and let the world back in.

"Ah, the smoke cleared! Geez, that was close to messing up my gears!" The nasally voice of Monoko said.

"What the fuck was that?" Michi shouted. I looked up to see the Speed Skater on his feet, pointing accusingly at the bear.

"Hey, it's not my fault! You were going to attack me!" Monoko replied.

"That doesn't mean you have to blow up the fuckin' building!" Michi replied, "you could have killed us all!" Monoko tilted its head.

A beat.

"Ha! You can't come back with anything, can you? We're too valuable to be killed!" Michi crossed his arms triumphantly.

"Some aren't as valuable." Monoko said, and I felt a shiver down my spine. The atmosphere suddenly changed.

It was tense.

"I'm obviously the most valuable one, so of course there are some less valuable." Michi scoffed, inspecting his fingernails.

"Take this situation as a friendly reminder from your compassionate principal!" Monoko ignored Michi and addressed all of us, "violence against me, your principal, is not allowed under any circumstances! Otherwise, the next explosion will be forcing one of you kiddos to speak through Miss Amaterasu for the rest of the game!" It shouted, pointing to the green-haired Exorcist, who was lying facedown on the floor.

"Heh?" Rei lifted her head slightly, before losing interest and dropping it to the floor again.

"We're gonna find a way out!" A voice came from the other side of the room. Looking over, I saw Kioko and Eiji glaring at Monokuma.

"And you can't do anything to stop us!" Eiji finished the sentence Kioko had started.

"With this many Ultimates in one place, there's nothing we can't do!" Kioko shouted, pointing at the cat accusingly.

"If you keep blabbing on about escaping and hope, I might have to release the first motive early." Monoko replied, tilting its head, "wait. The first motive is already in effect."

"Wait, what?" Yuudai asked.

But suddenly another rain of confetti hit the stage, and when the last piece finally hit the ground, Monoko was gone.

Silence reigned throughout the room.

What did the future hold for us?

"Guys," Seiichi said, gaining everyone's attention.

He looked up from his E-Pad, face white.

"Look at the motive." His voice shook. It took a moment for people to break out of their shock, but suddenly, hurriedly, all of the E-Pad's were out.

I stared down at the blank screen, my own fear reflected as the anticipation of seeing the motive that would begin this so-called killing game made me hesitate from pressing the on button.

But I did.

The screen lit up, automatically taking me to a screen with the title 'Motive'.

 **Motive No. 1**

 **There will be no food until one classmate kills another.**

My brain struggled to comprehend the words in front of my eyes.

"No food..?" I gasped, looking around at everyone.

"I don't even know when I last ate!" Yuudai shouted. And with his confession came a clamouring from the other students as they realised what was happening.

"Please everyone, calm down." Tamotsu said, but nobody listened to the silver-haired Cello Player.

"A solution." Rei murmured, still on the floor, "Do nothing. Conserve energy."

"How will we escape, then?" Kioko asked.

"No escape. Peaceful death." Rei replied.

"There's no way I'm accepting death! I am Michi Katsu, the Ultimate Speed Skater, and I have people who will find me!" Michi shouted.

"I'm so sorry, Kyung." Rouko clung onto the Korean girl's shoulder, "I didn't know this would happen."

"It's...okay, Rouko." Kyung replied, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl.

"There's no way this is allowed!" Seiichi said, gripping the pad tightly, so tight I thought he might crush it.

"I'm gonna kill that cat!" Sora leaped onto the stage and began hunting for it, "Hey, you coward! Get out here and fight me!"

"Yukiko, don't mess with it!" Kaida jumped up after the Snowboarder, but she was ignored.

"Oh, this is a mess." Aimi sighed, pressing a finger to her forehead, "Everyone is wasting their energy."

Suddenly, a shout split through everyone's panic.

Slowly, heads turned to find the source of the sound.

Alastor Yashin looked around, making direct eye contact with everybody in the room. His face was a blank canvas, and we all awaited his next move in suspense.

"It's...unbelievable." He finally said, running a hand through his slicked-back hair, "I mean, this thing thinks that nobody's going to be looking for us. You're all stressing and wasting energy for no reason." He said.

"That's correct. It can't be more than a day since we must have disappeared, and if that's the case, then people will be rescuing us in no time at all." Aimi stated, nodding firmly.

"I would give it, at most, two days. We need to survive for two days." Alastor held two fingers up.

"Yeah! When my Papa was teaching me self defence and how to get out of bad situations, he said that since I was so important, I would be saved really quickly anyway!" Kioko put her hands on her hips triumphantly, grinning.

"Woah, that's so cool! What else did your Papa teach you?" Eiji asked.

"So that means..." I looked to Alastor, ignoring the other two. I could worry about Kioko's weird family later.

"Everyone needs to stop running around and conserve their energy." Tamotsu spoke up, "There isn't much to do on this floor for most of us, so it would be best if we stayed either in our rooms or in this area, the Gymnasium."

"What about my talent room? I need to start working on everyone's clothes!" Seiichi cried.

"What a pervert!" Sora replied.

"Stop misunderstanding me! I've already explained it to you!" Seiichi retorted.

"I'm afraid that will have to wait until we escape." Aimi said.

"But everyone's gonna split up as soon as they escape! I just want people to feel what properly fitted clothing is like for once in their lives!" He whined, beginning to tear up.

"I don't think that's true." Fuyutake suddenly spoke up.

"Eh?" Seiichi asked.

"Everyone has the same memory of arriving at Future's Hope, right? And Monoko said we were students there. That means we're all from the same school." She explained.

"A light at the end of the tunnel!" Seiichi yelled, throwing his hands up in victory, "Thankyou, Ganko!"

"Geez, it isn't that profound." The Graffiti Artist replied, smiling awkwardly.

"Either way, I suggest we split for today and return to our rooms." Tamotsu said.

"Comfortable here." Rei lifted a hand up from the floor, "I'm staying."

"But the doors lock at 10pm!" Eiji said, "How will you get out?"

"Spirits. They tell me." The Exorcist replied.

"I'll tell you, then!" Eiji said. Rei just sighed.

"We should all meet tomorrow morning, in here." Tamotsu said, "To work things out properly."

Everyone murmured their agreement.

"Well, I'll see you all tomorrow...or when we escape." Seiichi said, leaving the room.

"You won't be seeing me, perv!" Sora shouted after him.

"Hey!" The Tailor stuck his head back in the door, gave Sora the stink-eye and left.

Slowly, but surely, everyone began to leave, until it was just me, Fuyutake and Rei.

"This is crazy." Fuyutake said, more to herself than anyone else.

"Nobody here would kill anyone else, though." I said. The blonde Graffiti Artist looked up at me, surprised.

"I didn't realise you were still here, Seiko." She said.

"I tend to have that effect." I sighed, scratching the back of my neck.

"I mean, that could be a good thing." Fuyutake said, "you know...sneaking up on people to kill them and such," She looked over at me, and her smile quickly dropped.

"Ah, sorry. I use humour to..ehh..cope with things sometimes. I dunno why it just happened then, usually I keep those kinds of jokes to myself." She tugged on one of her plaits, looking at the floor.

"It's fine. I can't see anyone here actually killing each other, so I'm sure we'll be fine." I waved a hand, trying to lift the awkward air, but it didn't seem to work. With a hurried goodnight, Fuyutake left the room.

I couldn't get a grasp on her personality, but it felt like she had accidentally let something very close to her slip. I couldn't help but hope she didn't hate me...the last thing I wanted was to be disliked in a killing game.

I looked back to Rei, but she was still facedown on the floor, and I didn't particularly want to bother her lest she start following me again.

Seeing nothing else to do, I stepped out of the gymnasium and made my slow way to my 'dorm'. Outside the windows was only a milky darkness, through which I could see my reflection walking. I thought I would have looked more slouched, more tired at this point, with the information I had learnt, but surprisingly I walked as I always did.

Maybe physical changes didn't really happen in real life.

I reached the door to my room, but hesitated on opening it. I looked down the hallway, to where everyone else's rooms were. Maybe one of them would be awake?

I turned the corner, and almost immediately my eye was drawn to the end. Frowning, I let my eyes focus on what I was seeing.

One of the doors at the very end of the hall was partially open, and a dark blue eye connected to a face hidden in shadow peered out of the door.

"Hey-" I went to move closer to the door but as soon as I took a step the person gasped and slammed the door, leaving me alone. Confused, but not wanting to bother them, I decided to return to my door, vowing to try and find them tomorrow.

My dorm was less comforting than I had wanted it to be. I quickly checked in my cupboard to find, surprisingly, instead of the uniform I had on, a pair of pyjamas in the same colour as my clothing, hung neatly with a pair of slippers and matching dressing gown. Sighing, I changed and walked around the wall to my bed.

I was about to climb in when I realised that I still hadn't opened that box on the desk. I picked up the box gingerly, surprised at its heaviness, and hesitated for a moment, spinning it around in my hands.

"Oiya! If it was a bomb, it would have exploded by now with the way you're handling it!" Monoko's nasally voice shouted, and the cat appeared right in front of me.

I let out a loud shriek and threw myself backwards, landing softly on the bed, but in a quite compromising position. I was suddenly glad I was in clothes.

"Waaaah! How much of my stuff are you going to throw yourself into before you end up dead from a splinter of wood!?" It fumed, jumping up and down on the desk.

"What are you doing in here?!" I cried, shuffling backwards.

"What do you think I'm here for? I'm your principal, so it's my duty to check up on all my students and see how they're doing!" Monoko said.

"I don't appreciate you showing up randomly." I said, running a hand through my hair.

"Ah, don't worry about it! I made sure you were dressed before I showed up." The cat waved a hand airily.

Well, that was good at least...

"Wait, you were watching me while I changed?!" I suddenly realised, mortified.

"How else was I supposed to know when I should make a grand entrance? I didn't want to show up to you letting off a fart while pulling your pants up!" Monoko said it with such conviction that I couldn't help but think it had done exactly what it said it hadn't wanted to. I felt bad for the poor student who dealt with that catastrophe.

"So, anyway, share the goss. What's the drama? Which student do you think will kill first? What does everyone think of me?" Monoko asked, seemingly teleporting to the bed I was sitting on and hobbling closer to me on stumpy legs.

"What do you want to know for?" I asked, pushing myself backwards.

"I'm your lovable, cuddly, compassionate mascot, Monoko! Don't you want to ask for my advice?" The cat asked.

"Not particularly." I replied, shifting backwards further as it came closer.

"Posh! None of you are of any use!" Monoko threw its arms up into the air, "I'm leaving! Make sure you open that present before you go to sleep and also check your door is locked! I want a killing game, but I don't want a stupid death to happen!" And with that the cat was gone, leaving me alone again.

I glared at the spot it had been, taking a few breaths to calm myself, and then looked at the box.

Sighing, I dropped it on the bed and stood, walking around the room, running my hands through my hair.

I didn't want to be here.

Why was I here?

I looked to the door, and a creeping fear took hold.

It was the kind of fear when you switch the lights off and then walk down a long hallway.

The feeling of being watched.

I grabbed the keys off the table in my room and slipped them between my knuckles again, wary. As I slowly made my way to the door, I listened for any noises.

Unsurprisingly, I couldn't hear anything.

That doesn't mean nobody's there.

I reached the door, gripped the lock and flipped it as fast as I could, running back to the lounge area.

And then I realised how stupid I was being.

I was playing into that cat's game already, and I hadn't even been here for more than a day.

I dropped the keys on the floor and stomped to my bedroom, grabbing the present and throwing it onto the floor.

Something clanked dully inside, but I ignored it and pulled the covers up, practically throwing myself onto my pillows.

And though I tried to sleep, I couldn't help but think,

Would somebody kill?

 **~~Remaining~~**

Kioko Kozakura - Ultimate Board Gamer

Sora Yukiko - Ultimate Snowboarder

Kaida Satsuki - Ultimate Woodworker

Aimi Minori - Ultimate Harajuku Fashionista

Rei Amaterasu - Ultimate Exorcist

Fuyutake Ganko - Ultimate Graffiti Artist

Rouko Soba - Ultimate Translator

Kyung Hye - Ultimate Exchange Student

Eiji Hikou - Ultimate Airplane Pilot

Tamotsu Ryuunosuke - Ultimate Cello Player

Seiichi Shigeru - Ultimate Tailor

Michi Katsu - Ultimate Speed Skater

Yuudai Kenen - Ultimate Theatre Manager

Asahi Seiko - Ultimate Parkour Expert

Alastor Yashin - Ultimate Croupier

? ? ?


	3. Act 1 - Good Morning, Future's Hope

"Good morning, kiddos! Open your eyes and greet the day with joy! It won't last very long, so I would relish in it while it's here~!"

Knocking on my door.

Somebody was knocking on my door.

"Mum?" I asked, still half-asleep.

The knocking continued.

Groaning, I pushed the blankets off me and sat up, rubbing my eyes.

As soon as my feet touched the floor and I looked up, I realised.

It wasn't a dream.

It wasn't even a nightmare.

"Asahi Seiko, get your white-haired mug outta there!" A voice shouted.

"Eh?" I scrunched my eyebrows, stumbling to the door. Who would be concerned about me? I hadn't become close with anybody yet.

As soon as I reached the door, the knocking abruptly stopped.

I frowned, and looked through the peephole, but couldn't see anybody.

It was then that my door busted open, hitting me square in the jaw and knocking me backwards.

"Kyaaaaaah! Not again!" Kioko Kozakura's voice wailed.

"Again?!" Yuudai Kenen's voice replied.

"I'm so sorry!" Kioko shouted, and I felt someone's hands on my jaw, pushing on it.

"Hey, what the-" I tried to say, but the words muffled as the person continued messing with my jaw.

"Kozakura, he's trying to speak. Let him." Yuudai spoke.

"He can't speak! If he does, it'll break his jaw even more!" The Board Gamer gasped.

I finally opened my eyes to find the girl in question sitting way too close for comfort, her face mere inches from mine.

Immediately, I pressed my feet against the wall and launched myself out of the way, rolling up to my knees and staring at the two.

Surprisingly, they were already dressed and ready, and unsurprisingly, Kioko looked shellshocked.

"Your jaw!" She reached her hands out to me, a dismayed look on her face.

"It's fine." I said, running a hand through my hair. True, it had hurt, but I didn't think there would be any lasting damage.

"But-but we have to put ice on it! So it doesn't bruise!" She cried.

"You have a lot of medical knowledge, for a board gamer." Yuudai laughed. Kioko looked at him quizzically.

"Isn't putting ice on a bruise common knowledge?" She asked.

"I-it is?" Yuudai's eyes widened.

"Shouldn't a theatre manager know a bit about injuries? I've heard horror stories about actors getting hurt in plays." I said.

"Uh..." Yuudai looked around, "Seiko, why aren't you dressed yet?" He abruptly changed the subject, pointing accusingly at me.

"Eh?" I asked.

Kioko finally noticed and immediately clapped her hands over her mouth, "kyaaah! I've invaded your privacy! I'm so sorry, Seiko!" She jumped to her feet, bowed to me, and ran out of the door, slamming it and leaving just me.

"Geez, it's not like you were naked or anything." Yuudai said from behind the door. A few seconds later, I heard footsteps as he walked away.

I stood and brushed my clothes off, going to the cupboard. I was surprised to see that it had changed from pyjamas to uniform. Sighing, I pulled a set out.

I hurriedly changed and made my way to the gymnasium, and as I walked in I noticed that I was the last one there.

I cringed a little as a few faces noticed me.

"And the Fanboy finally arrives!" Sora Yukiko crossed her arms.

"You had me worried, Seiko. I thought someone had actually listened to Monoko." Aimi Minori pressed a hand to her face, "I'm glad you're here now."

"I'm sorry for being late, everyone." I murmured, running a hand through my hair.

"No need to apologise. After yesterday's events, I wouldn't be surprised if some needed more time to process the situation." Alastor Yashin said.

"More time? Ha! What a stupid excuse! The situation is that in a couple of days people are going to come to save me!" Michi Katsu glared around at everyone, "y'all will probably get saved too...at some point." The Speed Skater rolled his eyes at everyone.

"Will you shut up?" Sora Yukiko asked.

"Why don't you shut up?" Michi replied, flipping the Snowboarder off. Sora made a disgusted sound and flipped her hair, turning her back to him.

I began to wander around the room, finally finding myself in the middle of a group consisting of Aimi Minori and Fuyutake Ganko.

"I swear I met fifteen other students yesterday." Fuyutake was saying, "but I can't remember their name."

Aimi hummed, "I remember meeting a student with navy blue hair, but I can't see anybody around with that same colour."

"I remember navy blue hair too!" Fuyutake nodded, "and didn't he have a hoodie or something on? I remember thinking it didn't look like a school uniform."

"Are you sure it was a hoodie? I remember a blazer." Aimi replied.

Fuyutake sighed, "the elusive sixteenth student." She grumbled.

"We should ask Amaterasu if he's a ghost." Aimi said, laughing. Fuyu snorted.

"Good morning." I made myself known, waving at the two.

"Oh, good morning, Seiko." Fuyutake said.

"Did you sleep well?" Aimi asked. I nodded my response, and before the girls could speak again we were interrupted.

"Good morning, everybody. I must thank you all for coming to this morning's meeting. Yesterday was quite chaotic." Tamotsu Ryuunosuke spoke from the front of the room, though he didn't stand on the stage. Instead, he was on the floor, everyone else surrounding him in a jumbled semicircle.

"What do ya want us here for, anyway?" Michi Katsu asked.

"There are important matters I would like to discuss. Yesterday was, quite unsurprisingly, very stressful for many of us, so I would like to take the chance while things are calm to go over everything." Tamotsu replied.

"What's there to go over?" Yuudai asked.

"Food." Kaida Satsuki spoke up, looking at everyone.

"Exactly." Tamotsu replied.

"That's an easy answer. There's no food. There, done. Can we get this over with? I need to train." Michi sighed.

"That is exactly what we do not want you to do at this moment, Mr. Katsu." Tamotsu said, worry creasing his brows.

"Huh? How come? Do you think my talent has no training required? Huh? Are you trying to stop me from performing my own talent? Huh?" Michi hissed at the Cello Player, skating forward a bit menacingly.

"Calm down, Katsu." Kaida moved in front of Tamotsu, "Ryuunosuke has a good reason."

"Tch." Michi clicked his tongue annoyedly but backed off, crossing his arms.

"Does everybody know basic survival skills?" Tamotsu asked, ignoring the Speed Skater.

There was silence in the room.

Even I had no idea about that stuff. Suddenly, I realised how inadequate I was in this situation. I made a mental note of - when we got saved - taking some courses on survival.

"Well, that is an issue." Tamotsu murmured, brows further creasing.

"I'll help you." Kaida said, "I used to go on camping trips all the time with my dad, so I know how to survive. Now, the key is to think in rules of threes. Three hours without shelter, three days without water and three weeks without food. We already have an advantage; shelter and water. We only have to think about food." Kaida finished.

"I'm already hungry." Yuudai groaned, "I can't even remember the last time I ate."

"If you're hungry, drink water." Kaida said.

"I heard you can get poisoned from water if you drink too much." Eiji Hikou said.

"Aw man, now I can't even fill up on water?" Yuudai asked.

"You'd have to drink at least three litres in a few hours to be poisoned." Rouko Soba looked at everyone, "don't ask me how I know that."

"Woah! What happened? Eiji Hikou asked.

"It's not that interesting." Rouko waved her hand airily.

"Awww." Eiji pouted.

"It seems the best idea would be to drink as much water as you can while also monitoring your hydration levels." Tamotsu said.

Kaida nodded her approval.

"Uh, you don't think..." Kyung Hye drifted off.

"What is it?" Alastor Yashin asked.

"W-well, it's just-" Kyung bit her lip.

"Spit it out, Exchangey." Michi Katsu sighed annoyedly.

"'Exchangey'?!" Rouko Soba gasped.

"That's what she is, right? An exchange student." Michi replied, waving his hand about to emphasise his point.

"Basic manners would be much appreciated, Mr. Katsu." Tamotsu said.

"You're all strangers to me, I don't need manners. Come on, Exchangey. Speak. Say what's on your mind." Michi replied.

Kyung's shoulders tensed at the sudden pressure, but she didn't back down. She bit her lip, hard, and her eyes turned stony as she thought of what to say.

Finally, the Exchange Student spoke.

"Nobody here...will kill, right?" She paused, "we're only...short...anyway."

"Short?" Michi snorted, "whaddya mean by short?"

Kyung glared at him.

"I struggle...with Japanese." She replied.

"Uh huh, we can all tell that." Michi raised an eyebrow.

"She means young!" Rouko shouted, "could you stop being so rude?"

"Ah, lets end this fight before it begins." Tamotsu stepped in, "it will not help our situation if animosity spreads."

"But he-!" Rouko was cut off.

"I understand. However, this is a situation where we need to be relaxed. Mr. Katsu, please refrain from commenting so rudely on a person trying to learn a language. Miss. Soba, take deep breaths and put this in the past." Tamotsu held his hands out, looking from one aggressor to the other with a stern yet kind glance. Michi, surprisingly, backed down, and Rouko simply turned her back.

"Woah, you're so good at that! How'd you do it? Are you a mind reader? Or a hypnotist? Or a mind reading hypnotist? You must be so smart to be able to do that! How come you're the Ultimate Cello Player instead? What's a cello? Is it a mind reading tool? Is it your scarf? Why do you wear that scarf? How'd you find it?" Eiji Hikou suddenly spoke up, running forward and barraging the poor Tamotsu with questions. The taller man began trying to answer every question, but every time he did the Airplane Pilot came up with more to ask.

It seemed the meeting was over as people began to drift out of the room, until it was just me, Eiji and Tamotsu left.

He looked up and caught my eye, and I gave him a sympathetic look. I was about to butt in and stop Eiji, but Tamotsu waved me away, mouthing that he was fine. Confused, but not wanting to interrupt, I left the room.

The windows of the main area of the building faced me, blocking the view of the other side of the hall with glaring sunlight. I stepped up to the glass and looked down, surprised at the height of the place. There were three other floors, all below us, and what looked to be a small garden in the centre of the bottom floor, and on the floor above that there was a walkway diagonally crossing the courtyard.

"I miss fresh air." A voice from next to me sighed.

I jumped a little, looking over to see Kaida Satsuki, leaning her forehead against the window sadly.

"When did you get here?" I asked the Woodworker.

"Not long ago. You looked like you needed company." She rocked back and forth on her heels.

"Did I..?" I asked.

"Well, everyone needs company. Loneliness is really bad for you." Kaida explained.

"Ah, ok." I said.

There was an awkward silence as both of us tried to figure out what to say.

"So...the weather." I pointed outside.

"Oh." Kaida cringed, "you're a small talk kinda person."

"Eh?" I asked.

"Well, if you're gonna have a conversation, at least make it something worthwhile." Kaida paused, "Why don't you tell me how you got your talent?"

I laughed. "It's not really that interesting, I suppose. When I was a kid, my Mum nicknamed me 'mountain goat' because I was always climbing and jumping around. When I grew up, I started watching parkour videos, then I found lessons, and I guess it just all built up into me becoming an Ultimate." I shrugged.

"Did you ever do competitions?" Kaida asked.

"I've been in a few. Uhm, the first one I was in I came last." I laughed. Kaida nodded firmly, pleased with my answers.

Another silence. The Woodworker stared at me like she was waiting for something.

"Uhm, how did you get your talent?" I finally asked. She relaxed, grinning.

"Finally! Well, my parents said when I was really young and they gave me wooden toys, I would just take them apart instead of playing with them. It really annoyed them at first, but then they saw me trying to put the toys back together and succeeding, and they decided I should look at woodworking. I fell in love with it as soon as I started, and haven't really been able to stop doing it since. It's actually kinda unhealthy for me sometimes." Kaida said.

"How is it unhealthy?" I asked.

"Oh, well, if I get too into a project I'll forget to do basic things like eating or sleeping sometimes. And when I finish a project I'll pig out and then go into a food coma for a few days." She replied, scratching her head.

"A few days?" I gasped.

"Yeah. It makes my friends worry about me sometimes. Once, I missed school for a whole week because I was sleeping; I had just finished a month-long project." Kaida sighed, "aw man, now I wanna build something." Lost in her thoughts, Kaida began wandering off, and soon disappeared around the corner to the dorm rooms. I watched her leave, suddenly worried for her wellbeing. Sleeping for a week? The most I had ever slept was probably twelve or so hours, and that was because it was the holidays.

But I couldn't very well continue the conversation now. Kaida had left. I made a mental note to continue the conversation later and looked down the hall, trying to decide which way to go.

Left, or right? The talent rooms or the dorms?

Luckily, though, that decision was made for me as I began to hear faint sounds of shouting and banging coming from somewhere nearby.

Frowning, I began to follow the noises until I reached one of the classroom doors.

"Come onnnn!" I heard Yuudai's voice shouting.

"I can't...get it!" Sora gasped.

"Well pull harder, then!" Michi's voice rang out.

"You aren't doing anything!" Sora shot back.

"I'm making sure nobody hurts themselves!" Michi replied.

"No, you're just trying to protect those stupid rollerblades. Do you ever take them off?" Sora asked.

I stepped into the classroom.

Sora and Yuudai were pulling on a firmly shut door which, surprisingly, sat in the closet, while Michi stood, supervising the Theatre Manager and Snowboarder by standing a few feet away and shouting.

"I should be the one supervising this! I don't have enough strength to pull open a door." Yuudai groaned, placing his feet on the wall as he yanked on the handle.

"I have much more authoritative skills than you, Kenen." Michi snarled, "now pull on the door!"

"Why am I even listening to you?" Sora grumbled. She looked around, finally noticing me, "Oh. It's the fanboy."

"I'm not a fanboy." I shook my head, "what's going on here, anyway?"

"I think this door leads to the roof, so I've enlisted the help of Yukiko and Kenen to open the door for me." Michi said, looking at his feet. He rolled one of his blades around on the floor, bored.

"How long have you been trying to open it?" I asked.

"Too long." Yuudai groaned, shaking his hair out of his face.

"It's not meant to be opened! I already told you." Sora said.

"There's no way that's true! Why would that cat thing put a door here if it wasn't meant to be opened?" Michi asked.

"There's probably a reason it was hidden in a cupboard..." I drifted off.

"Hey, what if we pull on it?" Yuudai completely ignored me.

"We do what I say we do." Michi said, "stop trying to take over!"

"I'm a manager, Katsu. It's literally in my title. I can't do much else." Yuudai sighed.

"Fine. I'd like to see how you do better." Michi turned his nose up. Yuudai sighed in relief and stepped away from the door, moving a few boxes that were in the way to the back wall. Then he leaned back on one of the desks and looked at the door, tilting his head as he focused.

Finally, he nodded to himself.

"Yukiko, Katsu, you're both strong. If you both ram the door at the same time, it should be able to break the lock." He said.

"I'm not helping." Michi looked incredulous.

"Eh?" Yuudai raised an eyebrow, "You're part of the 'door opening crew', though."

"I never agreed to help." Michi replied.

"Yes you did." Yuudai frowned.

"I agreed to lead you so we could open the door." Michi crossed his arms. Yuudai, thoroughly confused now, looked from the Speed Skater to the door and back again, waving his arms. Angered sounds escaped his mouth as he tried to speak his thoughts, but what came out was an alphabet soup.

Finally, he gave up, throwing his hands into the air.

"We aren't opening this door, then." He said.

"I can help." I said. Yuudai looked over at me, and relief flashed across his features.

"Seiko, you're a life saver." He gestured for me to come closer and began to re-explain the plan. Finally, Sora and I were ready. We stood next to each other, and I felt my face growing warmer as I peered at her from the corner of my eye. But I tried to stop it from bothering me as much as it had yesterday, shifting so my shoulder was aiming towards the door.

"Ready?" Yuudai counted down from three, and on one we both launched ourselves across the room.

And then my heart stopped.

"Oiya! What are you kiddos doing to my door?" In a puff of smoke, a familiar shape appeared.

"Gyaaagh!" I shouted. Trying desperately to stop myself, I leaned backwards, tripped over my own feet and slid to a stop right next to it, hitting the door pretty hard with my feet and falling onto my back.

"Ugh, the cat." Sora managed to stop herself gracefully, stepping away from it.

"Aieeeee!" Michi tried to go backwards, failed, slipped on his rollerblades and only just caught himself. He took a second to organise himself then looked over at me, "you look like an idiot." He stated.

I could only stare in shock. The utter lack of self-awareness...slowly, I stood up again, trying not to groan in pain.

"Oi, kiddos, listen up! If a door is locked, that means you can't access it! I'll let you off with a warning this time, but stop trying to open locked doors!" Monoko shouted.

"Why show up now?" Yuudai asked. The cat fell silent.

Then it disappeared.

"What a waste of a robot," Sora sighed, glaring at the ceiling, "Hear that, Mono-fucker?"

"Oiya, that's not his name!" The PA voice suddenly switched on with a short squeal.

"So what? It's not illegal to name things!" Sora replied, completely unfazed.

"You kids'll be the death of me. I can already see it: 'Everyone's favourite cuddly, compassionate mascot, Monoko, killed by stress from a group of rebelling teenagers who won't do what it wants!'" The PA voice shut off with a sharp click.

"Ugh, whatever." The Ultimate Speed Skater rolled his eyes and made his way to the door, almost running into me on the way out, "I'm better than all of you, anyway." And with that he slammed the door shut and was gone.

"Fanboy and a fuckin' wimp." Sora rolled her eyes.

"All that work for nothing." Yuudai sighed, stretching his arms, "I could have gone for a snack if we were allowed food."

"Don't remind me." I groaned, "I already feel like I haven't eaten in years."

"That Mono-fucker is gonna get it once we get saved." Sora growled, slamming her fist into her palm.

"Do you know why we're here, anyway?" I asked.

"Haven't we already been over this? We all lost our memories." Sora replied snarkily.

"Well, somebody might have more information..." I drifted off, realising how stupid the statement was as soon as it left my mouth. Nobody knew where we were.

"If somebody had more information, what makes you think they wouldn't use it to get us all out?" Sora creased her eyebrows.

I was just making myself look even worse every time I saw Sora, wasn't I?

"Look, I gotta go. Satsuki asked me to help her with something." Sora disappeared out the door, leaving me with Yuudai.

The room was silent.

"Aw man, she really doesn't like you, does she?" Yuudai finally asked, scratching his head.

"Yeah..." I sighed.

"Hey, how about we go to my talent room and I can show you around more?" Yuudai asked.

"Yeah, let's do that." I replied. The Theatre Manager's eyes widened in glee and he inhaled sharply, before running over and gripping my arm, pulling me along behind him as he practically ran to his talent room.

When we got there he shoved me inside first, before closing the door behind him and walking up one of the aisles, staring at the stage in absolute awe.

"Every time I come in here, my breath is taken away." He said.

"Haven't you been in nicer theatres?" I laughed a little, running a hand through my hair.

"Well, obviously. This theatre couldn't hold a candle to some of the ones I've seen. But, for what I assume is a school, this is gorgeous." He explained, spinning around, "come on. I'm going to give you the grandest tour money can't buy!" And with that, Yuudai gestured for me to follow and we began to walk around.

"The dress circle was actually a little difficult to find; but once you know where it is there's no forgetting it." Yuudai grinned.

He led me past the chairs and around a corner, into a hallway which was pretty easily hidden.

"But why?" I murmured to myself.

"Huh? Did you speak, Seiko?" Yuudai asked.

"Eh, uhm, it wasn't anything." I shook my head and followed the theatre manager to the door, which he swiftly opened without hesitation, disappearing up the staircase beyond.

Still surprised by the odd design of the entrance, I followed him, closing the door behind me, and emerged again on a higher level, with chairs reaching out on every side to the walls, and at least halfway down the theatre, with only a small handrail bridging the gap between the dress circle and the floor.

"I was shocked when I came up here for the first time!" Yuudai said, "so, the ceiling, from what I can tell, is made of actual bocote and ebony, which is apparently really expensive! That's what Satsuki told me, anyway. Also, the chairs are so comfortable, and when you turn the lights off it's practically pitch black." Yuudai continued speaking, unaware of my disinterest, as I wandered to the front of the dress circle. The wall stopping me from going to the lower floor only reached up to my hips and sloped downwards, towards the seats underneath.

The stage looked even bigger from up here; I found I could see pretty easily into the wings of the stage from this vantage point, though from what I could see there wasn't much different from when I had been there last.

I turned, looking towards the back of the theatre, and finally noticed what Yuudai had been talking about.

The ceiling was intricately decorated with wood inlays, twisting and curling around the light fixtures like tree branches. It was beautiful, and the sheer detail that had gone into the work made me gasp. Surely this was no school theatre. There was no way any school would have a budget like this.

But then...where were we?

Argh, I still couldn't make sense of anything! This wasn't fair! I couldn't remember why or how I was here, nor why the people with me were chosen! Sure, we were all Ultimates, but they wouldn't just kidnap random Ultimates, right? They'd have a reason...

That is, if Monoko was a 'they'.

"Hey, Seiko." Yuudai came up next to me, and the atmosphere suddenly became more somber,

"you don't think somebody'll die, do you?"

"Well..." I paused, running a hand through my hair, "I don't know everyone that well yet, but we're only teenagers, right? I don't think a teenager would kill."

"Yeah," Yuudai sighed, "but hunger can make people do terrible things."

"How do you know?"

"Ah, well, it's a kind of stupid story, but it reminds me of the situation we're in right now. Though, it was about two thousand times less stressful." Yuudai laughed. "Anyway, my sister and I were at school one day, and she'd brought her lunch with her, when I'd forgotten. I'm a hangry person, so you can guess what happened when I realised I didn't have food with me. I couldn't concentrate, my stomach was grumbling all the time, and I got into a big fight with one of my friends. I know it sounds stupid, but if you consider how long we might be here for...it's not hard to see that maybe those emotions could escalate, and a fight could break out, and-" Yuudai stopped himself.

I was silent.

"Ah, sorry for bringing the mood down, Seiko." Yuudai tugged on his suspenders, pulling them up over his shoulders.

"You have siblings?" I finally asked. I didn't really want to think about our situation. My stomach was empty, and the growls weren't far away. If there was one thing I didn't want to talk about, it was that cat and its 'game'.

"Mmhmm," Yuudai nodded, "I have a twin sister. She's an Ultimate too."

"Really? What's her talent?" I asked.

"Understudy. She was accepted before me, actually. We started a drama club together at Future's Hope with all the other theatre-related Ultimates. From what I remember, the last thing we were working on was a play called 'Pygmalion'."

"That sounds like fun."

"Yeah." Yuudai sighed, looking down at the seats below us, "I hope she's okay." He murmured.

For a while, we stood in silence. I let my thoughts work themselves out, and then, when they were finished, drifted into a peaceful silence, zoning out. I wasn't sure about what was happening around me, but when I came back to my senses Yuudai was gone, and an announcement was playing.

Ding Dong Bing Bong!

"Attention everyone! It is now 10pm, which means that the hall and talent rooms are now locked! Please exit these rooms as fast as possible, lest you get punished!"

A pause.

"Yes, that means you, Mr. Shigeru. No exceptions, I'm afraid~! And Mr. Seiko, you are very close to a punishment, so stop gawping and leave before I lose my patience!"

Hurriedly, I forced my legs to move as I practically sprinted out of Yuudai's Talent Room. As soon as I left, a large clanking sound came from behind me, and when I tried to open the door again I found that, indeed, it was locked.

Sighing, I decided to head back to my room, but when I turned the corner I almost ran straight into a certain tailor, carrying bundles of materials in his arms. As we collided, Seiichi lost his balance and began to fall backwards, the materials flying out of his hands and going everywhere.

"Ah!" I rushed to catch him and managed to get my arms underneath him right as he almost hit the floor.

There was a moment of shocked silence as we both figured out what had just happened.

Then Seiichi righted himself, picking the dropped materials up again.

"This is the second time you've saved my life, Seiko." He laughed, "are we considered friends now?"

"Uhm...if you say so." I ran a hand through my hair, smiling awkwardly.

Seiichi grinned, "then we can call each other by first names, then!" He paused, "Asahi."

"What were you walking down here for, anyway? All the doors are locked." I asked.

"Well, I heard you were in the theatre, and I was going to ask you for help." Seiichi grinned.

"Help?" I frowned.

"Well, you already saw it, but I've got a few too many materials for me to hold."

"So you want me to help carry some?"

"If you wouldn't mind, best friend~!"

"Uhm...sure, okay."

I held my arms out and Seiichi began piling materials onto them, until he was holding nothing and I was holding everything. Sighing happily, he stretched and fixed his suit, before walking off ahead of me.

"Ah, it feels so much better to have help." He said.

I was going to confront him about the material, but Yuudai's words suddenly came back to me.

Confrontation was the one thing we had to avoid in here, because, especially with everyone being hungry, something small could escalate into...irreversible damage.

I followed after, shocked into solemnity by my own thoughts, and we walked in silence for a few moments.

"Hey, Seiichi. Do you have any siblings?" I finally asked.

"No, I'm an only child. My Mum and Dad are really busy with their jobs, so they didn't really have time to have kids. When Mum had me, she said she was back at work as soon as she left the hospital." He explained.

"Who looked after you, then?" I asked.

"I had a nanny growing up, but when I was eight my parents decided to start taking me to their work and teaching me about their jobs. It was really fun!" Seiichi replied. As he spoke, he picked a piece of material off the pile I was holding and began to inspect it, holding it out, wrapping it around himself, pulling it this way and that.

"So...how did you get your talent?" I asked.

"My parents! I was brought up around fashion, and taught the importance of well-fitting clothing when I was really young. It helps you feel more confident, and the right fit on a person can make a boring, drab outfit look absolutely stunning. Also, it's much better to live without worrying that your pants will fall down, or your jacket makes you look like a paper bag." He put the material back.

"It sounds like you really love what you do." I said.

"Of course! Why else would I be the Ultimate Tailor? I didn't get here by skill alone. It takes passion to do this job!" He glared up at me, seemingly shocked at my statement. I felt my face tint pink. I lifted my arms a little to try to hide my face, but I didn't think it was working too well.

Either way, Seiichi didn't seem to notice. He was preoccupied with finding which room was his again. Finally, he found it, and grabbed the materials off me.

"What are you going to do with those?" I asked.

"Tailor, of course! It may not seem like it, but I've actually got some clients who want me to tailor their clothing! Also, Monoko gave me a sewing machine to use in my room when I first arrived." Seiichi grinned, "anyway, I need to work. Goodnight, Asahi."

With a quick wave, Seiichi shut the door, leaving me alone in the hallway.

Sighing, I decided to go to bed. I was exhausted already from the lack of food, and while water was filling me up, it wasn't giving me a lot of energy.

As I walked into my room, I stared at the box on the floor.

Seiichi had received a sewing machine...maybe whatever was in here had something to do with my talent?

But when I shook it, it sounded metallic, and was somewhat heavy. What kind of thing for parkour would be metallic and heavy?

Well, I might as well open it and find out.

I pulled on the ribbon at the top, and began to pull at the wrapping paper, revealing a small, plain box. I went to pull open the lid, but suddenly-

"Stop!" Monoko appeared at my feet, holding a paw out.

"Eh?" I asked, shocked at its sudden appearance.

"I said stop, dummy! What do you think that means?" Monoko asked.

"Wh-why?" I looked from the half-opened box to the cat.

"It has..." The cat turned so its red eye was looking at me, "dangerous items inside."

"H-hey, wait! I thought this was something for our talent!" I replied, shutting the lid again.

"I never promised that..." Monoko stood in silence, and suddenly we were having a staring contest as it stood completely still, building tension in the air.

"Juuust kidding~!" Suddenly Monoko switched to the cute side of itself, "ufufufu, you shoulda seen your face!"

"Don't do that!" I cried, aiming the box at it.

"Oiya! Violence against headmaster Monoko is not allowed!" It shouted.

"You're a troll!" I replied with just as much volume.

"Waaa, so mean! Now I'm going to ignore you, and vomit on your bed sheets!"

"H-huh?!"

"Buh-bye~!" And with that, Monoko was gone.

Slightly worried about its last statement, I let myself relax somewhat, staring at the box.

Aaagh, every time I tried to open it I got distracted!

Annoyed now, I gripped the lid of the box and yanked it open, glaring at its contents.

A small pile of silvery coins stared back at me, each printed with an image of Monoko's face.

"Eh?" I tipped the coins out onto the desk, trying to find something else, but there really was nothing in there.

"Oiya! Don't just tip all your money out! Someone might steal it!" Monoko shouted over the PA system.

"This isn't money!" I replied.

"It is! You can use it to gain special perks at the shop!"

"What shop?"

"Well, you'll just have to find that out, won't you?"

The system shut off and I let out an aggravated growl.

"I thought you were ignoring me!" I shouted at nothing.

What the hell was this place? Teddy cats, fake money, killing games and expensive talent rooms. It was like some kind of weird fever dream, and adding the students to it just made it even weirder.

Annoyed, I changed into my pyjamas and climbed into bed, falling asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Ding Dong Bing Bong!

"Attention kiddos! It is now 7am, which means it's time to get up, get dressed and get out into the world! Become closer with your classmates so you can make their deaths even more despairing~!"

My stomach hurt.

I crawled out of bed and my stomach have a loud, angry grumble in response. I already felt drained of energy, and it had barely been two days. How people managed to survive three weeks was beyond me.

Opening the door to my room, I was greeted by a certain Board Gamer and Airplane Pilot, who was bouncing on his toes giddily.

"Good morning, Seiko!" Eiji Hikou said, saluting me.

"Uhm...morning." I replied, running a hand through my hair, "what are you doing here?"

"We're enlisting your help!" Kioko jabbed a finger into my chest, "on a journey!"

"A journey?" I asked.

"A biiig journey!" Eiji replied.

"It's a journey which will be filled with hardships, but at the end we will be closer together!" Kioko said.

Where was this going?

"For the journey, we need to ask for help from two other people! Who do you think we should choose, Seiko?" Eiji asked.

"Uhh..." I wasn't used to being put on the spot like this. Who would be good to go on a journey with? Who was I close with? Who did I want to get close with?

"I suppose...Yukiko and Ryuunosuke."

"Bah bow." Kioko made a cross with her arms, shaking her head, "That's not gonna work."

"Eh? But you said-"

"Yukiko doesn't like you, and for the journey, we need people who like us." Eiji said.

Wonderful.

Never meet your idols, I guess.

"Ryuunosuke's still fine, though!" Kioko said, "he likes everyone!"

"He's really nice." Eiji confirmed.

"We need someone else!" Kioko said.

"Uhm...Ganko?" I asked.

"Hmmm," The Board Gamer crossed her arms, thinking.

"Hikou," I gained the Airplane Pilot's attention and he turned to me, "what is this 'journey', anyway?" I asked.

"You'll see when we've recruited everyone! It's a secret. Usually I'm bad at keeping secrets but Kozakura told me I'd be banned from the journey if I told anyone. And the journey sounds really cool. It's about-"

"Ganko likes all of us!" Kioko shouted suddenly.

"Yay! Then let's go recruit her and Ryuunosuke!" Eiji spun on his heel and began running off. Kioko quickly grabbed my hand and dragged me after him, towards the hall.

Tamotsu and Fuyutake were both inside, along with some other students, getting water.

"Gankooooo!" Eiji ran up to the Graffiti Artist, "we have a question to ask! It's really important!"

"Oh? What is it?" Fuyutake asked.

Kioko quickly explained everything to her, in the same cryptic way it had been to me, and, reluctantly, Fuyutake agreed, though she looked extremely confused. Eiji grabbed her arm and tugged her behind him as we went to Tamotsu, who was talking to Alastor.

"Hey, Ryuunosuke!" Kioko caught his attention.

"Hm? What is it, Miss. Kozakura?" He asked, poetic as ever.

"We're recruiting you! Come with us!" Kioko said.

Tamotsu tilted his head, looking at Fuyutake and I.

"Have you two been recruited as well?" He asked.

I nodded. Fuyutake gave the thumbs up.

Tamotsu thought for a moment, then nodded.

"I shall come along as well, then." He said.

"Aren't you going to question what it is?" Alastor Yashin asked.

"I trust these four students." Tamotsu replied, "well, I trust every student. After all, we will be leaving soon."

Alastor frowned, but let the Cello Player go, and we stepped out of the hall and towards the classrooms without any more hold-ups.

Kioko took us to the classroom closest to the talent rooms, and turned on her heel.

"Today marks the start of your journey. On this journey, you will be testing your faithfulness to each other, as well as becoming allies. The journey you partake on may be rough, and the consequences for some of your actions may cause friction, but you must remember that this is all for the greater good. I must ask you to bury the fear instilled in your hearts, as, when I open this door, whatever waits inside will sense that fear and attack!" Kioko recited perfectly, like she had been reading from a script.

There was something ominous about her tone, and Fuyutake and I shared a glance as Kioko reached for the doorhandle.

Were we making a stupid decision? Was what Monoko said actually going to happen? What was waiting inside?

Kioko pressed down on the door handle and slowly, carefully, pushed open the door.

The inside was pitch black.

But, out of that darkness, I could hear something.

A soft murmur, barely audible.

"Can you hear something?" Fuyutake whispered.

"I-I'm scared now. This isn't the kind of journey Kozakura told me it would be." Eiji murmured, eyes wide.

"I would not be afraid, you three." Tamotsu smiled at us all, "there is nothing here which could hurt us." And with that, he walked up to the door, reached an arm out and pressed a hand against some...fabric?...that was blocking the doorway. Tamotsu reached for the edge of the door, pulling the fabric aside slightly so he could walk in, but as soon as he took a step towards the door, a terrifying thing happened.

A ghastly, bony white hand shot out from the curtains and grabbed his arm, and with superhuman strength, Tamotsu Ryuunosuke was yanked through the fabric, disappearing.

"Hyaaaaah!" Eiji leaped backwards, "R-R-R-Ryuunosuke's been pulled into the upside-down!"

"This has gotta be a prank." Fuyutake walked up to the doorway, and reached a hand out.

And the bony hand from before gripped her wrist.

Alarmed, Fuyutake cried out, trying to pull her hand away, but, suddenly, she disappeared inside as well.

"N-N-N-Now Ganko's in the upside-down too!" Eiji wailed, clapping his hands to his face, "I have to help them!"

He bolted towards the door and was pulled in as well, letting out a muffled shout as he disappeared.

My feet were stuck to the floor in shock. I couldn't move.

Kioko looked up at me from under her fringe, a dark look in her eyes.

"Your turn, Seiko." She said.

"H-Hey, what's going on?" I asked.

"You have to go inside to find out." Kioko replied, "I'll meet you there."

I looked at the darkened doorway, where three of my friends had just disappeared, and gulped.

An irrational fear was taking hold.

But, there wouldn't be anything too scary in there. I mean, this was Kioko Kozakura we were talking about. The Ultimate Board Gamer. Surely someone as sweet as her wouldn't be able to put together an elaborate plan to murder one of us...right?

I stepped up to the door, pushed the curtain out of the way, and let the bony hand grab mine and pull me inside.

As soon as I was pulled through the curtain I fell over.

"Woah, Seiko!" Fuyutake's voice called good-humouredly, "have a nice trip?"

I groaned my response, pushing myself up. I quickly fixed my hair and uniform, then looked around at where I was.

The classroom had been completely transformed. The chairs had been cleared to the sides of the room, and some of the desks had been put together in the centre of the room, with a piece of black fabric covering them. The walls had been mostly covered with the same black fabric, covering all the things that had made the place look like a classroom. At the table sat Eiji, Fuyutake, and Tamotsu, and in front of them was a large board, two oddly-shaped die in the centre and a box off to the side. Turning around, I let out a shout of surprise.

Rei Amaterasu's face peeked out from a black cloak, hiding her from view. She stared out at me with disinterest, her mouth slightly open.

"Heh?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"W-what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Kozakura asked me," Rei paused, "to help her."

What? Help her?

Help her with what?

"Wait, were you pulling us into the room?" I asked, aghast.

Rei nodded.

My mouth dropped open. She had that much strength? How-how had she managed to pull us all in with just one arm? Surely there was no way.

I was about to speak again when Kioko walked into the room, closing the door behind her. She looked around, noticed me, and hurriedly ushered me to the table, where I took a seat, and finally got a good look at the board.

It was...a map?

"Kozakura, what's all this?" Fuyutake asked.

"It looks like a quite different board game from usual." Tamotsu said, tilting his head.

"Never fear, friends! Amaterasu and I are going to help you with that!" Kioko grinned, "we're going to be playing...Dungeons and Dragons!"

"D-Dungeons and what-now?" I asked.

"Dragons!" Kioko replied.

I furrowed my brows, confused.

"Oh no. Seiko, do you not know what dragons are?" Fuyutake reached over the table and placed a hand on my arm, "they're like big scaly dinosaurs that fly, but they're cooler, 'cause they breathe fire. I watched a movie once where people learnt how to ride them. Man, that was a good movie." Fuyutake drifted off.

"I know what dragons are." I replied, a little bit annoyed.

"Anyway, I was thinking of things to do last night which would make us better friends! At first, I thought of Monopoly, but when I asked Monoko if it had a Monopoly board it said no, so I had to improvise. I was gonna make my own, but Monoko came back and gave me a D&D board and some stuff that went with it, which really surprised me! But, it was the only thing I had, so I decided that we should play this instead!" Kioko grinned.

"So...how do you play 'Dungeons and Dragons'?" Tamotsu asked.

"Well, the first part is to create your characters! Here, I'll read you the rules!" Kioko pulled a thick pamphlet from the pouch on her hip and unfolded it, revealing that it was almost as tall as her and just as wide. My mouth dropped open.

Surely there was no board game that needed this much explanation?

Little did I know, I was about to have the learning experience of a lifetime.

After an hour had passed, and Kioko had explained how to create a character, everyone was deciding who to play. It seemed Fuyutake and Eiji already had characters in mind, but I was drawing a blank. What kind of person would I be able to project myself on? What species, what battle type?

"I dibs on being a dwarf!" Fuyutake threw her hand in the air, "her name is Riswynn and she's a fighter."

"I wanna be an elf. Paelias the Cleric." Eiji said.

"I must admit, I am a bit lost on what to choose." Tamotsu rubbed his forehead, a confused look on his face.

"We can help you!" Eiji said. He took the pamphlet off Kioko and began to read through it furiously, before slamming it onto the table and pointing at something, "You're a wizard!"

"I am a what?" Tamotsu replied.

"A wizard, Harry!" Eiji shouted.

"Harry..? Who is Harry?" Tamotsu looked even more confused now, the poor man.

"Hikou, a wizard is his class! We need his race!" Kioko pointed to a different part of the page. The Airplane Pilot frowned, looked over the page, and then nodded to himself.

"You are hereby known as Finnan the Halfling, of wizard class!" He stated.

"Uh-well...If you think that is the best decision, I suppose I am now Finnan." Tamotsu was a bit lost for words.

"O~kay, Seiko! Your turn!" Kioko pointed to me.

"Uhm..." I reached for the pamphlet and gave it a once-over, "I want to be a...rogue human? My name would be...Ramas."

"Aw, a human? But you're already one in real life." Fuyutake said, "why not be something more fun?"

"Uhm...I'm just not sure how to play, so..." I drifted off.

"Now Amaterasu makes a character!" Eiji pointed to the Exorcist.

"Heh?" Rei asked, looking up at us.

"Amaterasu isn't playing!" Kioko said, "we need a person to oversee the game."

"Are you playing, Miss. Kozakura?" Tamotsu asked. Kioko shook her head.

"I'm going to help you play, and Amaterasu's going to read the situations!" Kioko said.

Nobody seemed to dissent to Kioko's idea, and so the game went ahead as planned.

At the start, I had no idea what I was doing, and neither did anyone else, but thanks to Kioko's patience, we began to understand everything. And as we understood what was happening, we began to enjoy the game more. Suddenly, I felt like I was transported to another place; a beautiful land with endless peril, and a group of four adventurers exploring the darkest corners of the land to uncover the secrets lying beyond. Slowly, Ramas began to grow on me, as well as the others.

"O~kay, Amaterasu! Read the next situation!" Kioko pointed to the Exorcist, who sighed and searched through a different pamphlet. She had been reading situations from it the entire game, but it was handwritten instead of printed. Kioko had explained that she made up the situations last night. Rei read the situation, then pointed to me.

"You," She said, "Flauros...found you."

"W-wait, what?!" I gasped. Rei glared at me and held a hand up for silence. Then, she pointed to the others.

"He has sent his army..." She paused, "to smite you."

"Wait, What do we do?" Fuyutake asked, "I don't think I'm at a high-enough level!"

"I'm injured from the last battle!" Eiji pressed his hands to his mouth.

"Flauros has..." Rei turned to me, "taken Ramas captive. There are...thirty-six demons...coming to battle Finnan, Paelias and Riswynn."

"Can I cast a shield of some sort?" Tamotsu asked. Rei scanned the pamphlet.

"You are not...at a high-enough level." She said.

"What are we supposed to do?!" I asked.

Suddenly, a hand slammed down into the centre of the table, and we all looked up to see Kioko, grinning.

"Fear not, fellow comrades. Fravashi, the Guardian Angel, is here to help!" Kioko reached into her 'piece-pouch' and pulled out a small metallic figure, which she slammed onto the table. It looked like a figurine; a woman in beautiful robes with two feathered wings sprouting from her back.

"Did you..." Fuyutake paused, in shock, "did you just make us play this so you could stick your Mary Sue D&D character in?" She asked.

Kioko gasped, "Fravashi isn't a Mary Sue!"

"I believe the title 'Fravashi' means 'guardian angel' in Zoroastrianism." Tamotsu stated.

"You weren't even creative in naming your character?" Fuyutake asked.

"Stop being mean!" Eiji said, "Fravashi is part of the group!"

"She just showed up! What do you mean, 'part of the group'?" Fuyutake asked.

"She's a guardian angel! That means she's always looked after us." Eiji explained.

"Exactly! I'm here to help you!" Kioko said.

"But how op is your character?" I asked.

"Well..." Kioko looked into the distance, "I've been playing with her for a few years, and since she's the same character, I don't need to get rid of her stats...she's really powerful." Kioko grinned.

"That's not fair!" Fuyutake cried, "we only just started playing today!"

"What? You were gonna defeat Flauros all by yourselves? He has thirty-six armies of demons coming for you. Your healer is wounded and one of you has been captured!" Kioko threw her hands up.

"Thirty-six armies? Rei said thirty-six demons!" Eiji cried.

"That is..." Rei murmured, "what is written." Kioko looked at us all.

"That was a mistake. I wrote those scenarios last night and I should have said armies." She huffed.

"But you didn't." Fuyutake poked her tongue out teasingly.

"But now I'm saying it, so it's canon!" Kioko crossed her arms.

"That's not how it works!" I cried.

"But..." Kioko drifted off, seeing we weren't going to listen, and pouted, taking Fravashi off the board.

"I just wanted to play too." She muttered.

"How come you did not join us at the beginning, Miss. Kozakura?" Tamotsu asked.

"I couldn't teach you how to play the game and join in! That would have been really confusing!" Kioko replied.

"Well, why don't we keep playing, and if Flauros is winning we bring in Fravashi?" I asked.

"Isn't that a bit of a plot convenience?" Fuyutake asked.

"Appearing at the beginning of a tough battle is also a plot convenience." Tamotsu replied.

"Let Fravashi play!" Eiji said. The argument continued on like this for a while, before, finally, Tamotsu decided to speak up.

"How about we leave this game for today? We can always come back tomorrow." He said.

"Can we?" Rei asked.

"Eh?" Kioko frowned, "You aren't asking about...that...are you?"

"One may...die." Rei tilted her head.

As soon as she said that, the atmosphere in the room changed completely. Suddenly, we realised where we were again, what we were doing here. We weren't friends. We were strangers from the same school, trapped together and forced to kill.

And with that, everyone decided that now was a good time to leave the game be. They all left, until it was just Kioko and I left behind. She had begun to clean up the room, so I decided to help.

We didn't speak for a long while.

"Hey, where'd all this fabric come from?" I finally asked.

"It's from Yuudai's Talent Room. I saw he had some black cloth backstage and asked if I could use it." She explained.

"What's it normally used for?" I frowned. It didn't look or feel like any kind of fabric for a theatre to use, but then again, I wasn't the most knowledgeable on theatres.

"They're meant to be spare curtains or something." Kioko replied. I looked at the piece I was folding up, and frowned.

"This is really small for a curtain." I said.

"About that..." Kioko gave me an awkward smile, "I cut them up so they would fit."

"What?!" I gasped.

"Monoko said it would replace them!" Kioko replied quickly, waving her hand at me.

The rest of the cleanup went rather quickly, and finally we were finished. I was putting the desks and chairs back where they belonged when something struck me.

"Kozakura, what's your Father like?" I asked. Kioko looked surprised at the sudden question, but then her face grew into a wide smile.

"He's really great! He taught me everything I'd ever need to know about anything, and he was always really nice about it too!" She explained.

"How come he taught you about all that survival stuff?"

"What survival stuff?"

"Well, the other day, you were saying he taught you how to get out of a hostage situation."

"Oh, that." Kioko paused, "l don't know. He said it was really important for the future, since I was an Ultimate and all."

That made more sense. Being an Ultimate was a highly prestigious role for any young person. Thinking about it, I was surprised there hadn't been news of kidnappings or things like that from Ultimate students.

Well, no news until now.

So then, what had changed?

"What about your parents, Seiko?" Kioko took me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, well...they're normal, I guess. I never really got along with them, though." I ran a hand through my hair.

"How come?" Kioko asked.

"Uhm..." I frowned, "I'm not really sure. We just got into fights a lot."

"Doesn't everyone get into fights with their parents?"

"Yeah, I guess so." I smiled.

"I used to fight with my papa." Kioko said.

"What about your Mum?"

"Mama? She looks after the family when Papa's away. But, whenever he comes back, she gets to relax, because he does all the work." She sighed, "Mama has it really tough sometimes."

"Oh, so you have siblings?"

"Yeah! I've got two older brothers!"

"Surely that would be annoying." I laughed.

"Nope! Touma - he's the middle child - was my best friend when we were younger! He would always dress up and play fairies with me! And Mitsue - my oldest brother - would play board games with me." Kioko's smile faltered, "I miss them." She spun around, grabbing a folded pile of material.

"They sound like a lot of fun." I replied.

"Yeah..." I watched the Board Gamer square her shoulders, taking a breath in, "But it's fine! Papa will find me, and we'll all be saved! It won't be long now."

And with that, she walked out of the room, leaving me behind.

I fixed the last few desks and then sat down, staring at the blackboard.

Kioko's words had made me realise; I hadn't seen my own family in a really long time.

Suddenly, the world felt a lot more rocky. A homesick feeling buried itself deep into my gut, and my vision tunneled to a single point on the blackboard.

My family...were they worried about me?

And what about everyone else's families? How would they react if...if their child died?

Or if they killed?

Ding Dong Bing Bong!

"Attention kiddos! It is now 10pm, which means the hall and talent rooms are now off-limits! Go snuggle up in your beds, by yourself, and sleep! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the Hope bite!"

The next morning, I woke up to the announcement and found that, for once, nobody was waiting outside my room when I opened my door.

My sleep had been fitful.

The hunger had since stopped giving me pain, which was a good thing.

But, in return, I felt completely drained of energy, and my stomach felt like a cavern of nothingness.

I wouldn't have time to wallow in my sadness, though, as a situation seemed to have transpired down the hall.

"I. Want. Out!" A voice screeched. I heard the sound of something hard hitting something else, and a scream of rage.

Warily, I took a step out of my door and poked my head around the corner.

Michi Katsu launched himself out of one of the classrooms, fire in his eyes, chair in his hands, and hit the window with such force I was utterly stunned that it didn't shatter right then and there.

Instead, the glass wobbled dangerously and Michi bounced back, barely landing upright. He glared at the window, hauled the chair over his head and threw it at the glass.

Just then, Monoko showed up.

"What is going on here?" It shouted, waving its paws in the air, "don't you remember the rules about breaking things?"

"Fuck your stupid rules!" Michi replied from somewhere inside the classroom, "I refuse to be a part of this!"

"Oiya, it's been three days! Why do you want to leave now?"

"Because," Something heavy dragged across the floor, "I," Michi skated backwards out the door, stretching his back, "am incredibly," He reached back into the classroom and pulled out one of the very heavy bookshelves, "hungry!"

He shouted, picking it up with relative ease and launching it at the window.

The glass didn't budge.

Michi looked at the glass, the bookshelf, Monoko.

"What the fuck is this made of?" He asked incredulously.

"I should be asking you that! Where did this strength come from? Have you been secretly eating?" Monoko asked, "did you find food somewhere? Did you...kill for food?" It tilted its head.

"Asshole!" Michi flipped the cat off, "answer my question!"

"Oiya, disrespecting your headmaster! I will not answer any questions from students who disrespect their headmasters!" Monoko harrumphed.

"I am going to smash you into a wall." Michi growled.

"Against the rules~!" Monoko sang.

"I'll 'accidentally' skate over you."

"Can't do that either!"

"Then I'll just boot you into the stratos-fucking-sphere!"

"Oiya! I'm feeling threatened!" Monoko disappeared.

Michi looked at the space where it had been, clenched his fists, and let out another scream of rage.

The PA system activated.

"Oiya, King Kong, keep it down! People are trying to sleep in!" Monoko shouted.

"Don't call me King Kong!" Michi shouted.

"Stop screaming like one, then!" Monoko replied, and the PA system shut off.

Michi grabbed one of the chairs and, once again, piffed it against the glass.

Unfortunately for him, the chair bounced back and hit him straight in the nose, and he fell back into the classroom with a loud thunk.

"Fuck!" He shouted.

"What an idiot." A voice came from behind me. Surprised, I spun around, seeing Sora Yukiko standing behind me.

"Once a fanboy, always a fanboy." She murmured. She pushed past me and walked down the hallway, towards Michi.

"Hey, Speed boy! What're you doing?" She called.

"My nose is broken." Michi whined from the classroom.

"No it isn't." Sora replied.

"I hit myself in the face with a chair! Of course it's broken!" Michi fired up, and he poked his head out of the classroom, clutching his face.

"You aren't even bleeding." Sora rolled her eyes, "at most, you'll get a bruise."

"Oh yeah? How would you know?" Michi sneered.

"I'm an athlete? I know this stuff, idiot." Sora said.

"Oh, sure you do. Sora Yukiko, Ultimate Snowboarder, knows what'll happen if someone gets hit with a chair." Michi mocked. Instead of responding, Sora thwacked him across the head and walked off.

Michi crumpled to the ground, clutching his head now.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" He shouted.

"You're wearing a helmet." Sora replied.

For some reason, she seemed more relaxed around Michi than anyone else.

Maybe having a rivalry with someone made people closer...or maybe Michi was just really easy to annoy.

"A mess so early in the morning..." Aimi Minori walked up next to me, pressing a hand to her forehead, "I'm surprised Monoko hasn't executed him."

"Well, he hasn't broken anything, right?" I asked.

"Ah, I suppose..." Aimi shook her head, an amused look crossing over her face.

I was about to ask something else when we were interrupted.

"Food." Yuudai Kenen mumbled, pushing his way between us and down the hall. His eyes were glassy. Frowning, I said a quick goodbye to Aimi and chased after the Theatre Manager. He didn't seem to notice anything, but when I waved my hand in front of his face for a minute he noticed me.

"Food. Foo-oh, Seiko. Did I ever tell you that you look like an icy pole?" He asked, stopping abruptly.

"Uh...no?" I asked.

"Oh. Well, you look like an icy pole. One of the lemonade-flavoured ones. Or...actually, no. You look more like mochi ice cream." Yuudai nodded.

"Mochi..? You mean the ice cream in dough?" I asked.

"Mmhmm. Like a taro-flavoured mochi ice cream. White and purple." A wide, loopy smile spread across Yuudai's face, "Seiko the mochi ball." He laughed.

"Uhmmm..." I ran a hand through my hair, unsure of if Yuudai was giving a compliment or not, "What's up with you?" I asked.

"He is experiencing starvation." Tamotsu came up next to me, "it is quite scary, thinking we all might end up like that."

"Omelettes..." Yuudai murmured.

"Yeah." I frowned.

"Ryuunosuke, you're...turquoise and grey. Turquoise and grey food...hmmm...oysters. And macarons. Oyster flavoured macarons? Macarons shaped like oysters." Yuudai went on, trying to come up with different ways to put oysters and macarons together, but all of the combinations sounded terrible.

"I don't believe we have talked much, Mr. Seiko. How have you been?" Tamotsu asked, turning away from Yuudai.

"Uhm...I guess I've been able to get to know everyone better, which is good." I shrugged. What else was I supposed to say?

"Everybody here is quite nice." Tamotsu smiled. Just then, Michi went storming past us and slammed the door to his room, grumbling profanities I couldn't repeat even if I wanted to.

"Michi...is a lemon, lime and bitters. Because he's bitter." Yuudai laughed at his joke.

"Mr. Kenen, I must ask you to refrain from mocking other students." Tamotsu said. Yuudai narrowed his eyes confusedly.

"Dad..?" He asked. Tamotsu's eyes widened. He looked like he was about to say something but we were, once again, interrupted.

"Asahi!" A voice shouted. Surprised at my first name being used, I spun to see Seiichi Shigeru, running over to me, "are you going to let me tailor your clothes yet?" He asked.

"Ah, good morning, Mr. Shigeru." Tamotsu nodded to the boy, Yuudai's statement forgotten.

"Morning, boss-man!" Seiichi replied.

"Boss..? I am nobody's boss." Tamotsu replied, utterly confused.

"Well, you are now. You've been leading us all, remember?" Seiichi nudged the Cello Player on the arm, "making sure nobody kills anyone."

"Well, I would have expected everyone to be doing that." Tamotsu replied, "nonetheless, I am flattered by your compliment."

"Compliments? Who's giving out compliments?" Rouko Soba popped up out of nowhere, closely followed by Kyung Hye.

"Me!" Seiichi replied.

"I love compliments! Give Kyung one." Rouko demanded.

"Ah...it's okay, Rouko." Kyung waved a hand, but Rouko shook her head.

"You deserve compliments." She replied.

"You give me...too many." Kyung laughed. Rouko's face immediately turned pink and she giggled, rubbing her arm.

"I don't..." She mumbled. Kyung opened her mouth to say something but we were interrupted by Yuudai.

"I am...a banana." He said.

"W-what?" Seiichi asked.

"Seiko's a mochi ball, Ryuunosuke is oyster flavoured macarons, and me...I am a banana." He looked up at us all and puffed his chest out proudly.

"Kuhhhh..." Kyung tilted her head, "Kenen...are you okay?"

"I am..." Yuudai lifted a finger, paused, and frowned, "decidedly not. But I am a banana."

"This is confusing. Asahi, why are you a mochi ball?" Seiichi asked.

"Uh, you know how in the movies, when people are starving, they start seeing things as food?" I asked. Seiichi nodded, realisation dawning on him.

And with that realisation, came excitement.

"Hey, Kenen, what am I?" He asked.

"Gold and blue..." Yuudai frowned, "what food is gold and blue?" He pressed a hand to his chin and began to pace.

"Hey, while Yuudai's doing...whatever he's doing, do you want to hang out with us, Seiko?" Rouko asked, seemingly back to normal.

"Sure." I replied. Rouko grinned and gestured for me to follow her.

We walked through the halls for a while.

"You two seem really close. Did you know each other before this?" I asked.

"Rouko was my...translator when...I first arrived in Japan." Kyung said, "she learnt me Japanese."

Right as Kyung said that, Rouko corrected the girl.

"I bet travelling so much is really fun for you." I said.

"Ah, sometimes. I miss...my family. But I see so many...places." Kyung grinned, "I'm very...glad that Rouko...is here."

"Ever since she showed up to Future's Hope, we've been inseparable! It's probably because I'm the only one that understands Korean." Rouko laughed.

"How many languages do you know?" I asked.

Rouko frowned and began to count on her hands, "I know 10 fluently, and I'm learning 11." She said. My mouth dropped open.

"How?" I managed to gasp out.

"I learnt some tips and tricks." She winked.

"She is very smart." Kyung said.

"I mean, it's not that impressive of a talent. I just sit in a room and look at random letters until I understand things." Rouko shrugged.

"My talent is similar. I sit in a plane...and walk around foreign countries...and I stay confused." Kyung grinned.

Rouko rolled her eyes and said something in Korean to Kyung, which the Exchange Student burst out laughing at. It seemed my conversation with them was over as they continued speaking in Korean, and after a few moments I decided to make a silent exit.

For a while I wandered the halls aimlessly, but I couldn't see anybody.

That was, until I turned the corner to the dorm rooms and came upon a sight which left me dumbfounded.

Eiji Hikou stood in the centre of the hall, chomping on...air?

"Uhm...Hikou, what are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm hungry!" The Airplane Pilot replied.

"T-that doesn't explain what you're doing..." I drifted off.

"I'm eating air!" Eiji replied.

"I-I'm sorry, you're doing what?" I stuttered.

"Air is good for you, right? And we breathe it in! So why can't we eat it?" He asked, taking another 'bite' of the air.

First Yuudai, now Eiji. Was everybody going to end up like this soon?

"Hey, Seiko, Hik-are you eating air?" Kaida suddenly came up next to me.

"Yep! It tastes good!" Eiji grinned, "I'm already feeling more full!"

"Wicked! Can I join in?" Kaida asked.

"Yeah!" Eiji replied. Suddenly the Woodworker had left my side and was chomping down on air as well. I watched the two walking around the hall for a little while, absolutely baffled by their antics.

"Seiko, join in!" Kaida called, "it's actually really fun!"

"Uhm, I think I'll stay here..." I ran a hand through my hair.

"Don't be stupid. Come and have a little fun." Kaida walked over and gripped my wrist, pulling me over to where Eiji was.

"You just gotta open your mouth, let a good amount of air in, and close it again!" Eiji explained, showing me what he was doing. I felt my face begin to flush, embarrassed at the thought of doing something like that.

"I-I think I'll just hang out with the others." I turned to leave but Kaida grabbed my other wrist, staring me dead in the eyes.

"Get outta your head, Asahi. I promise it'll be fun." She said, dead serious. I barely even noticed that she had called me by my first name.

Suddenly, like a switch had been flicked, Kaida let go of my wrists and turned, chomping down again. I looked around for anyone who could be watching, but saw nobody.

I guess...if we were all doing it, then it shouldn't be embarrassing...

I brought my hands to my face to try and cool it down, then opened my mouth, let some air in, and chomped down.

It was actually kinda fun. And, if you did it right, it did feel like you were eating something.

"Hey, Eiji. How come you always ask so many questions?" Kaida asked after a few minutes.

"Because I want to know stuff! I love learning about things, and with piloting there's always something new to learn, so it's really fun!" The Airplane Pilot replied.

"You don't really come across as the 'pilot' type." I laughed a little.

"That's what my classmates thought when they first met me. They were like 'this kid's too young to be a Pilot!' and 'he needs to stop asking so many questions!', but when we were doing the exams and the flight training I was always top of the class, so then they were like 'how is this kid so smart?' and 'we should answer all his questions', so I got their respect and they were always nice to me afterwards!" Eiji grinned.

"Were they not nice to you before?" Kaida asked.

"Sometimes they stole my hat and tried to flush it down the toilet." Eiji said, "I got upset but they said it was a prank, so it was fine!"

"Was this at Future's Hope?" I asked, incredulous. That someone as nice as him would get bullied, let alone at a prestigious school, made me almost...angry.

"I can't remember much of Future's Hope." Eiji poked his tongue out, "I'm pretty sure the flight school was where people pranked me."

"That's good." Kaida smiled, "it sounds like everything got better at Future's Hope, then."

"Uh huh! Anyway, I'm full, so I'm gonna leave now. Kioko and I were gonna play D&D with Rei!" He waved to us and ran off, blonde curls bouncing.

"Full, huh?" Kaida laughed.

"He's...surprisingly likeable." I tilted my head.

"Speaking of, I don't think I've talked to you enough to make an opinion, Asahi." The Woodworker turned to me.

"But you're calling me by my first name." I ran a hand through my hair.

"Eh, everyone's doing it. Except for Michi. And Tamotsu. And...Alastor and Rei and Fuyutake and...you know what? I'm the only one doing it." Kaida shrugged.

"You're...kinda weird." I said.

"Aren't we all?" Kaida replied, "I mean, Future's Hope calls us 'talented', but in the end we're just a bunch of teenagers who're a little better at things then others. Even then, we could still be kicked out of the school." She sighed.

It was true. From what I remembered, Future's Hope kept the claim that it only accepted the most talented students by holding a rigorous exam process twice a year. If an 'Ultimate' student failed the test, the next best took their place, and they were kicked out.

It was scary, but when one thought about the opportunities they could get when they left school...

"Hey, you listening?" Kaida waved her hand in front of my face and I was taken back to reality.

"What?" I asked snappily, surprised at how the question came out.

"Jeez, sorry for taking you out of your daydreams." Kaida crossed her arms.

"Ah, no! It wasn't meant like that! The words came out weird..." I waved my hands.

"Nah it's fine. I forgive you." Kaida said. I let out a sigh of relief.

"So when are you gonna tell Sora you like her?"

I sighed too soon.

"I don't!" I said.

"So when I karate chopped you in the stomach for gawking at her...that was nothing?" Kaida raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly." I lied.

"Cool. Then I'll go tell her you aren't interested." Kaida made to walk away.

"Ah, no!" I grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Kaida gasped and tripped, falling backwards. Immediately, I caught her in a dip.

"Oh, Asahi. Are you trying to romance me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No!" I replied, almost dropping her. Kaida burst out laughing and righted herself.

"Don't worry, I was kidding." She fixed her skirt, turning around, "I won't tell Sora anything. But only if you act normal around her."

And with that, she turned the corner, leaving me alone once again.

Why did she have to constantly bring that up?

I decided to go to my room for a few hours and look around more. I hadn't given it a thorough search since the first day, and was curious to see if I could find anything that could lead to our escape. I started with the bedroom.

The 'monocoins', or whatever they were, were still scattered over the desk and floor from when I had thrown them away, and I quickly picked them all up, placing them back in the box and pushing it to the far end of the desk. There were a couple of drawers underneath, and I opened them. The first drawer had nothing, but the second, when I rolled it out, surprised me. Inside was a small pad with a shiny black screen, almost like a phone.

Slowly, I picked it up, looking at my reflection in the screen.

Like a black mirror.

I looked around for an on button, but couldn't find any.

Confused, I stared at it again.

Was it actually just a mirror?

"Oiya, you finally found it!" A voice shouted.

"Gyaaaagh!" I screamed, spun and threw the pad at where the voice was coming from.

Monoko.

Monoko was there.

And as I watched, almost in slow motion, the pad hit Monoko straight in the face, knocking it backwards with such force that it almost hit the wall.

Immediately, my stomach dropped.

This was the end of me I had attacked Monoko I was going to get executed it's all gone wrong how has it all gone so wrong-

"Ow!" Monoko stood itself up, "maybe I should stop sneaking up on you kiddos!" It saw my ashen face, tilted its head, and crossed its...arms? Legs? What did mechanical biped cats have?

"Oiya, stop looking so worried. You didn't kill me!" Monoko waved its paw.

"R-really?" I whispered.

"No." The cat's red eye gleamed as it turned to it's black half, the sharp grin shooting fear into my heart. But then it spun back around to the white half, "I'm just kidding~! You may throw things at me and scream every time you see me, but you've never intentionally tried to kill me! Unlike Mister Katsu." Monoko turned dead serious again.

"Why are you even here?" I asked.

"I had time to kill, you were the only one on your own...oh, and also, you finally found the gift I offered you!" It shouted, waving its paws angrily.

"What? You mean this?" I grabbed the pad from the edge of the bed, where it had bounced to when it hit Monoko.

"Yes, of course! Everybody else found their presents really quickly, but you just had to not want to search around your room, didn't you?" Monoko growled.

"I mean, you didn't exactly put it somewhere obvious." I replied.

"Don't talk back to your headmaster! Now let me teach you how to use it." Monoko grabbed the pad off me and put its paw on the screen, "you unlock it with your fingerprint!" The screen suddenly lit up with a short loading screen, which then turned to a blue-toned interface with only two buttons; living room, or training room.

"Now, part of the reason you're on the end is because your room had the most mechanics involved! The Ultimate Mechanic did this work for you, so thank her next time you see her!" Monoko pressed the button for 'training room', and I heard a loud whirring noise behind me.

Confused, I turned to face my living room.

Or, where my living room used to be.

Right now, it was halfway into a wall which had opened up to let it through, the floor seemingly creating its own island.

As I watched, aghast, the living room disappeared fully from view, and a few seconds later a new room started coming through the wall.

Unlike the hardwood flooring of the rest of the room, this floor was blue, and looked soft. Atop it was what looked like a climbing frame, taking up almost the entire area of the room. It was the only thing there, and as I watched, it reached the edge of the room, bumping the wall slightly, and began to lower itself until it was at the same level as the rest of the floor, the wall closing behind it.

I was shellshocked.

"It's nothing big, but it should tide you over until your talent room opens." Monoko said. When I didn't respond, it spoke again, "hello, are you there?"

It asked a few more times before, finally, "all these ungrateful teenagers! You show them something you've worked hard on and they don't even have the courtesy to say a thank you!" I heard the pad drop to the floor as Monoko disappeared.

Just then I heard a knock on the door.

"Seik-oh, the door's open. Please excuse me!" Aimi Minori stepped into the room, bowing, and then noticed the frame sitting in the middle of it. Instead of being shocked, she frowned, tilting her head.

"I knew everybody had a present for their talent, but it seems you've got an entire room to yourself, Seiko." She said.

"Minori! U-uhm...it's...I...it's not always like this." I said, still confused.

"Oh! How does it change?" Aimi asked. She stepped onto the floor of the new room, and her heel immediately sank. Surprised, she jumped back, checking her shoe for any damage. While she did that, I finally shook myself out of my stupor and moved forward, taking my own steps onto the floor.

It was made out of some kind of spongy material which sprung back into place as soon as my foot left the spot. The climbing frame was made out of a sturdy-looking metal.

"M-Monoko pressed a button, and..." I frowned, "Do you make it a habit to walk into people's rooms?"

"Ah, well, your door was open...I was checking to make sure nothing bad had happened." Aimi avoided eye contact as she said that, an awkward smile on her face.

An awkward silence passed between us.

"Oh, right! The room." I suddenly spoke.

"I was wondering about that." Aimi said, "do you have a normal living room?"

"Yeah, I just have to...uhh..." I reached down and grabbed the remote, pressing my thumb onto the screen. It unlocked, and the two options showed up.

"I-I don't know how far away you should stand from this, so, uhm, maybe it would be better if you came over here." I pointed next to me. Aimi looked at me, then at her shoes, then back at me, a grimace on her face.

"I might just stand in the doorway." She replied, disappearing down the hall.

If her wardrobe was the same as ours, then surely she'd have multiples of the shoes she was wearing. Why was she worrying so much?

Sighing, I decided to ignore it and pressed the button for 'living room', watching as everything began to change again.

"Ah, my goodness!" I heard Aimi gasp as the training room began to disappear into the wall. A moment later, the living room appeared, slotted into position and lowered itself, leaving my room looking like nothing had ever changed.

As soon as it was finished, Aimi walked in, eyes wide.

"I can see why you have a room on the end now!" She said.

"That's what Monoko said when it showed this to me." I replied.

"Really? What a coincidence!" Aimi laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so." I pulled out one of my desk drawers and put the remote back in.

"I'm surprised that you would leave your door open in a situation like this." She said.

"I trust everyone here." I replied, looking over at her, "don't you?"

"Well, I can't say that I don't, but it's always good to err on the safer side of things." She explained, "that way, if something happens, the chances are less likely it's you that it happens to."

She was right. I knew I trusted most of the people here, but the truth was we had woken up in a place we knew nothing about, with unknown dangers. It seemed I had already gotten comfortable where we were, and that scared me.

I needed something lighter to think about.

"How come you're so protective of your shoes?" I asked.

Aimi gave me an odd look, "you changed the subject fast."

"Uhm, yeah." I ran my hand through my hair. Aimi shrugged.

"These shoes are one-of-a-kind from Boutique Mirai. I've always worn them for luck." She said.

"You seemed really worried about those shoes specifically, though. Don't you have duplicates in your wardrobe?" I asked.

"There are no duplicates of these. Anyone claiming they own a pair is telling lies." Aimi sighed,

"I'll tell you a story, Seiko. Back before I was scouted as the Ultimate Harajuku Fashionista, I was a well-known online influencer. Some would say I was the most popular one in the Harajuku world. Because of this, I would get a lot of offers from companies to promote their products. Most of the time, I said no, because I wanted to keep my online image free of brand ties.

"But one day, Boutique Mirai reached out to me. You might not have heard of them, since they deal in women's footwear, but in the Harajuku world, they're the most beautiful footwear you can get. Ever since I started dressing in Harajuku fashion, I've always wanted a pair of Boutique Mirai shoes, but they were always out of my price range.

"Here they were, though, offering to custom make a pair of shoes for me, free of charge, in exchange for promoting them. Of course I took the offer. I oversaw every aspect of the design of these shoes, to make sure they were the most comfortable fit for me. In the end, they were one-of-a-kind, and became my lucky shoes. That truly was the height of my career." Aimi sighed happily, content with having told her story. I looked down at her shoes.

Maybe it was because I didn't look at a lot of women's shoes, but they didn't actually look that original.

But I wasn't about to tell her that.

"That's...really cool." I said, a bit lost. Aimi just laughed at me.

"Seiko, would you be interested in trying on a pair of heels?" She asked suddenly.

"U-uhm...would I fit in women's shoes?" I replied.

"Of course! I think we might even be the same size." She gave me a sly smile.

Ah, I should've just said no.

But there wasn't much to do about it now.

"Here, follow me." Aimi left the room, and after a few moments, I followed, dejected.

The rest of the evening was spent with Aimi showing me different pairs of shoes and getting me to try them on; apparently her gift from Monoko had been a bigger wardrobe, and she had an entire section dedicated to shoes. Though it wasn't that much bigger than the ones everyone else had, I suspected it was because she had a talent room as well, somewhere in the school.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting with heels, but it wasn't the sheer discomfort and loss of balance I got. It turns out that, even when you're entire talent is based on being balanced, wearing a pair of thin stilts can show that your hard work was for nothing.

The nighttime announcement went off shortly after, and I said goodnight to Aimi, vowing to never wear heels again.

The next morning, I woke to the smell of something in my room.

It was...food?

No, I must be smelling things.

Right at that moment, my stomach gave the biggest rumble I'd heard, and involuntarily my mouth started watering.

Food. What I'd give for a hot breakfast...

The smell tingled my nostrils, tempting me with promises of a traditional breakfast, just like my Mum would make me at home.

But it was fake. Obviously.

Well, I was too tired to get out of bed anyway. I rolled over and pulled the blankets over my head, waiting for the morning announcement.

But the smell continued to infiltrate my nose. Argh, it was driving me insane!

With a sudden burst of angry energy, I threw the blankets off me and sat bolt upright, my stomach giving a loud grumble in protest.

There was no harm in looking, right?

Slowly, I stepped out of bed on wobbly legs. It felt like my energy had been sapped, the hunger truly getting to me now, but I stumbled my way around the corner and to the main area of my room.

And I stopped.

And stared.

Food.

There was food on the table!

My brain struggling to comprehend what my eyes were seeing, I staggered my way over to the table and practically fell in front of it, reaching out and touching the food. It was real.

It was real!

Hurriedly, I began stuffing my face, not caring about what I looked like, not caring about what I was eating. It was all the same to me. It all tasted like the best thing I'd ever eaten.

I was about halfway through the plate when I realised.

If there was food on the table...

My heart dropped.

"No-!" I jumped up and ran to my door, slamming it open.

The cool air from outside blasted against me, and I realised I was still in my pyjamas. But I didn't care.

I heard some more doors open and looked down the hall to see a similarly horrified-looking Rouko and Yuudai, standing at the end of the hall and looking around.

"What's going on?!" Yuudai shouted as more doors opened and more people joined the group.

Soon enough, everyone was out and standing together, chattering with raised, scared voices. I stood towards the outskirts, listening to snippets.

"Maybe Monoko took pity-"

"Who's missing?"

"Who the fuck decided to kill?"

"There's no way this is happening."

And then, the words I never wanted to hear.

"Where's Eiji Hikou?"

The group slowly fell silent.

We all looked at each other, trying to find the short, energetic Airplane Pilot.

He wasn't there.

And, without any prompting, everyone split up. Shouts of the pilot's name came from everywhere, echoing through the halls as people began to run, slamming open doors, rushing through and searching everywhere for him. The blood drained from my face as I watched Rouko and Kyung slamming on his door, desperation in their voices as they shouted his name.

And then, suddenly, my own feet began to move.

I had to do something. Maybe...maybe if I was fast enough, I could find him alive.

For some reason, my feet carried me past the classrooms, into the hallway with the talent rooms. I stopped in front of Seiichi's and burst through the door, looking inside.

Tamotsu and Seiichi turned to me, fear etched across their expressions.

I didn't have to ask.

With the two following me, we turned to Kyung's talent room and pushed the door open, to no avail.

The room was empty.

I rushed out and turned the corner, seeing the double door entrance to Yuudai's talent room. Taking a short breath in, I pushed open the doors and rushed inside.

Was somebody dead?

My answer was in front of me, a crumpled form in the centre of the theatre.

No no no please no this isn't right it isn't right at all-

Ding Dong Bing Bong!

"Attention everyone! A body has been discovered! Please gather in Yuudai Kenen's Talent Room!" Monoko's voice echoed throughout the hall as I stared at the body of my former classmate.

Eiji Hikou was sprawled across the two far chairs in the E aisle, completely limp, his hat lying mere feet away.

"Eiji-!" I gasped. Immediately I ran over, ignoring the announcement, and pressed my hand over his wrist, checking for a pulse.

Stone cold.

My heart dropped.

The sounds of footsteps running towards us came from all directions, and suddenly everyone was there.

"Eiji..." Kioko bobbed down in front of the aisle, her hands covering her mouth, tears forming in her eyes.

"What the fuck-?" Sora gasped, before glaring at everyone, "whoever did this...I'll fucking beat you!"

"This is so wrong." Aimi whispered, grimacing.

"Oiya, looks like this killing game has finally begun!" Monoko suddenly popped up in front of us.

"This is your fault!" Kaida cried. I looked over at her. Her fists were clenched, she glared at the bear with an unconcealed rage as her whole body seemed to shake, "this is all your fault!"

"Hey now, kiddos, I didn't kill anybody. It was one of you!" Monoko retorted.

"As fuckin' if! I would never kill anyone!" Michi shouted, puffing his chest out.

"Why is this...happening?" Yuudai wiped tears from his eyes, "Why would anybody kill?"

"I cannot believe somebody in this group would have done something like this." Tamotsu stated.

"That's where you're wrong, kiddo! And I have proof!" The cat pulled what looked like a student pad out of nowhere and held it above its head, "this, kiddos, is your Monoko File!" It shouted.

"Monoko what-now?" Michi asked, "it sounds stupid."

"This file gives you information on the murder! Since you kiddos aren't all famous detectives, this will help you on your journey!" Monoko handed the file to me, and I took it reluctantly.

"Once you've all read it, I'll put the information in your E-Pads! Anywho, that's all the info you're getting from me! Now get investigating and find out who the blackened is!" Monoko disappeared.

"Turn it on! I need to know who the killer is so I can fuckin' pummel them!" Sora slammed a fist into her hand.

A little scared, I pressed the on button.

The screen lit up with an image of Eiji's body at the top. Underneath was a silhouette of him, with a mark where any wounds were.

"The victim is Eiji Hikou, Ultimate Airplane Pilot." I began to read aloud, "He was killed before night hours last night in Yuudai Kenen's Talent Room on the Fourth Floor. He was found at 8:45am. Injuries include a cracked skull, three broken ribs, and a collapsed trachea."

"This is fairly detailed." Tamotsu said quietly.

"It's a little bit creepy." Aimi bit her nail, frowning, "I guess there isn't much we can do except investigate."

"I don't want to investigate a body." Yuudai murmured, "it isn't right."

"Me neither. I mean, I've never even...seen..." Seiichi suddenly brought his hands up to his mouth. He looked incredibly pale, a cold sweat forming. He gave us all a desperate look, and then bolted out of the room, covering his mouth, unsteady on his feet, like he was about to fall over at any minute.

"Seiichi-!" Yuudai bolted after him, disappearing outside.

"How are we supposed to start?" Kioko asked, eyes wide.

"Check out the body." Michi replied.

"No fuckin' shit, kid." Sora growled.

"Don't you 'kid' me! I'm way better than you could ever hope to be!" Michi replied.

"I don't see you in the olympics, fanboy." Sora replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't we be focusing on more important matters?" Tamotsu asked.

"We're standing in front of a dead body and you two are fighting over who's the better Ultimate." Kaida glared at the two, "how about you fucking shut up and get to work. And whoever killed Eiji...you better watch out."

I shivered. The way Kaida said it was with such conviction that I couldn't help but feel my stomach turn.

"But none of us know what to do." Aimi sighed.

"I might." Tamotsu suddenly spoke up.

"Eh? Have you investigated dead bodies before?" Kioko asked, still teary-eyed.

"Well, I used to be a biology major before I started doing cello, so I know a bit about the human body." Tamotsu replied.

"I will communicate," A voice said from behind me. I jumped a little and turned to see Rei, sitting on the floor, looking up at everyone.

She really had no presence at all.

"With Eiji's spirit." She finished, pushing me out of the way as she shuffled closer to the boy.

"A-Asahi..." Kioko tugged on my jacket. She was still crying, and as I looked at her she wiped her eyes hurriedly, "can I investigate with you? I don't want to go alone."

"That's...fine." I said, turning to everyone, "we should investigate in pairs or groups of three. That way the culprit won't be able to tamper with evidence."

"That is a great idea, Mr. Seiko." Tamotsu said, "I'm already with Miss. Amaterasu, then. You look like you're working with Miss. Kozakura. How about...Mr. Kenen and Miss. Minori, Miss. Soba and Miss. Hye, Mr. Shigeru and Miss. Satsuki, and Mr. Katsu and Mr. Yashin. Miss. Ganko, you can choose who you want to work with." He said, pointing to the students in question.

"I-uhm..." Fuyu faltered for a second, "I'll work with Kaida." She said.

"We should assign jobs to people." Aimi said, "things like gathering testimonies and searching the rest of the floor."

"I can do testimonies." I said, raising my hand.

"We'll search the talent rooms." Fuyu said.

"We will look at the...classrooms." Kyung said. She looked pale, but was trying to keep her composure.

"Oiya!" A voice suddenly came over the PA system, "You kiddos are on a time limit, remember? Stop gossiping and start investigating!" The voice shouted, and the PA turned off.

"It seems we must get to work." Tamotsu said.

Everyone began to scatter, until it was just me, Kioko, Tamotsu and Rei.

"I guess I should get your testimonies first." I said, looking pointedly at Tamotsu. I tried to avoid looking at Eiji's body but my eyes seemed to keep drifting.

Who killed him?

Why would one of us do something so horrible?

"The time of death was before night time hours, correct?" Tamotsu asked.

"Y-yeah." I replied, running a hand through my hair.

"I know this will not help, but I was in my room all afternoon. I went straight to bed at the announcement, since I was feeling quite exhausted from the lack of food." Tamotsu explained, "I awoke at the morning announcement."

"I didn't sleep." Rei said, "Helping spirits."

"Did you leave your room?" I asked her.

"Yes." Rei replied.

"When?" I asked.

"Hmmm..." Rei tilted her head, then looked back at me, "seven-thirty. The far classroom." She pointed to the talent room doors.

"Surely you saw something, then." I said.

"No." Rei replied, "I left at nine-thirty."

"You didn't see anyone roaming the halls?" I asked, breath shortening. If all the testimonies were like this, how would we find the killer? What evidence would we have that would stop us from being executed ourselves?

I looked to Rei for answers, reassurance, anything, but she had looked away from me and had her hand on Eiji's shoulder, eyes closed and mouth opening and closing in a silent monologue.

"Surely you saw something. Surely somebody saw something." I said, running both hands through my hair. A cool sweat broke out but I suddenly felt very overheated.

This was our lives at stake. Surely we could find something.

"Asahi," A voice broke me out of my thoughts and I looked over to Tamotsu, who was pointing to a section of one of the chairs.

"This chair is indented." He said.

Frowning, I looked over at where he was pointing, but couldn't see anything.

"Come here." Seeing my confusion, Tamotsu tapped the spot next to him and pointed again.

I looked again, and finally saw what he was talking about. It was minuscule, but there it was. A small dent in the top of the chair.

"But how did that get there?" I asked.

"Maybe someone was standing on the chair." Kioko pondered.

"They'd have to be pretty heavy to make that sort of mark." I said.

"Maybe not. Theatre chairs are not made to be stood on." Tamotsu replied.

"H-he has broken ribs, right?" Kioko asked.

"That is correct." Tamotsu replied.

"Well...isn't that usually a sign that somebody fell?" She asked. Tamotsu went silent for a moment, then tilted his head.

"That is a very good observation, Miss. Kozakura." He said.

"How do you know that?" I asked, looking over at her. Kioko looked at us all and then at the floor, twiddling her thumbs.

"Uhm, well...my papa used to teach me about this sort of stuff. He said it was helpful if I ever got into a bad situation." She murmured, so low I could barely hear her.

"Heh." Rei laughed.

"What's so funny?" The Board Gamer asked.

"It's almost like," Rei paused, and her face grew dark, "he knows."

"E-eh?" Kioko looked talent aback.

"About...this." Rei gestured to Eiji and the Monoko file. Kioko paused for a moment, in shock, and then her expression grew sour.

"My papa has nothing to do with this! He's a good man, he would never force people to kill each other!" She shouted.

"Heh," The corners of Rei's mouth turned up a tiny bit, "maybe not."

Kioko only glared at the Ultimate Exorcist, before turning on her heel and gripping my arm, tugging me away.

"Wait, Kioko-! We haven't finished investigating!" I said.

"They're investigating. And Tamotsu's good at that stuff." Kioko replied. Pulling on my arm again, she pointed to the dress circle, "we should see if anybody's in there."

I was going to protest, but locked eyes with Tamotsu, who made a 'shoo' movement with his hand. Sighing, I gave in and began to follow the Ultimate Board Gamer, away from the body, which I wasn't too upset to leave behind.

Kioko pushed open the door and we climbed upstairs.

The Board Gamer began hunting for clues almost immediately, checking everywhere, a stony look on her face. I followed, though less determined than her, but for the most part I couldn't find anything that would point to who the culprit was.

That is...

Until I noticed the edge of the dress circle.

From what I remembered, it sloped downwards at the edge, which was only hip-height. I made my way over - and, to my dismay - I realised that my theory had been proven correct. The dress circle did indeed slope down at the edges, and if I looked straight at the level below me...

There was Eiji, Tamotsu and Rei. I shuffled forward, looking over the edge, but suddenly my foot hit something with clanged against the low wall. I looked down, and noticed something shiny on the floor. Picking it up, I gasped.

"Asahi? What is it?" Kioko asked, coming up next to me.

"It's...one of Eiji's pins." I replied, showing it to her.

Suddenly, I heard a jingle from my pocket. I pulled out my E-Pad and, surprisingly, found a new tab opened at the top.

Evidence

And there, in all it's glory; a picture of the badge.

A badge shaped like the insignia on Eiji Hikou's hat and blazer. Found in the dress circle of Yuudai Kenen's Talent Room, in row A.

Underneath that was another tab titled 'strange dent'. I could only guess it was the mark Tamotsu had found on the chair.

"What?" I furrowed my brows.

"Looks like you've found a piece of evidence!" And suddenly Monoko was in front of me. I jumped back, dropping the badge, and almost kicked the thing in the face.

"Oiya! That was close, Mister Parkour Expert. You should watch yourself!" It shouted.

"You scared me!" I replied, glaring at it.

"I'm not that scary! After all, I appeal to everybody..." Monoko put a paw to its chin and looked up at me from underneath nonexistent eyelashes.

"Stop saying that." I grimaced, taking another step back.

"Why is Monoko here?" Kioko came up next to me, crossing her arms.

"Well, Miss Board Gamer, I have some wisdom to impart upon you two!" The cat suddenly pulled an E-Pad out of nowhere and pointed at the screen, which showed the Evidence tab.

"You see, whenever a case opens, so does this evidence tab! In it, you can look over past cases or look at the current one, but you can only access it when somebody dies! So, if you need important information but can't get to the evidence tab to find it...well, you know what you've gotta do!" The cat made a stabbing motion and Kioko made a disgusted sound. Monoko continued, anyway.

"Whenever you find new evidence in a case, the tab will update with said evidence! That way, during class trials, you can have easy access to everything you need! But, there's a catch!" At this, Monoko laughed. "You can only see the evidence that you've collected in a case! So if somebody else collects evidence that you didn't get during the investigation, you won't get access to it until after the class trial finishes!" Monoko threw its arms in the air proudly.

"But what about testimonies?" I asked, "I didn't get a notification when I got Tamotsu and Rei's testimonies."

"Ah, that's where it gets difficult! I have a sad story for you all. One day, when I was planning this killing game, I got my E-Pads. Now, when I was programming them, I was originally going to have them collect testimonies as well as other evidence! But here's where the sad part comes in.

"See, I tried my very hardest to get everything working properly, but for some reason, the testimonies never registered! So I had to settle without, which makes me sooo upset!" Monoko pretended to cry, pulling a tissue out from nowhere and dabbing its eyes.

"I guess that's helpful." I said.

"You guess? This is the most helpful thing ever created! Without this, there's no way you would survive the trial!" Monoko shouted.

"We don't need your stupid help! It's your fault someone died!" Kioko shouted.

"Aaaah! Anger from Miss Board Gamer! I gotta go!" Monoko disappeared.

"It's that thing's fault." Kioko reaffirmed her statement, quieter this time, before gripping my arm and pulling me towards the exit.

"Hey, where are we going?" I asked.

"I don't know." She replied.

"Kioko, stop." I stopped in my tracks, and she almost fell over. Once she got her footing back, though, she turned and glared at me.

"I've never seen you this angry." I said.

"We have to find evidence." She replied, but looked at the floor.

"You aren't acting like yourself." I put a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off.

"We have a time limit. Papa...P-Papa told me time limits were important. 'You might think you have a lot of time, but you don't, so move fast.'" She quoted him.

I was about to say something else, but she spun around and kept walking, leaving me to ponder her words.

Maybe...maybe what Rei had said...

No.

There was no time to think about that now.

I was about to chase after her, but as soon as I reached the door Tamotsu and Rei burst in.

Well, Rei didn't do much burst in as she shuffled into the room and crossed her arms.

"I heard a scream." Tamotsu said, alarmed.

"Oh, uhm..." I ran my hands through my hair, "Monoko scared us."

"Did he teach you about the 'evidence' tab?" Tamotsu asked. I nodded.

"Well, since you have access to it, I think we should share the information we currently have. That way we will have a better chance of surviving this...'class trial'." Tamotsu explained.

"Good idea." I replied. We both switched on our E-Pad's and began to share information. From what Tamotsu had found, it seemed that the Monoko File was correct in its information. A cracked skull, broken ribs and crushed trachea.

I felt a sick feeling in my stomach. Why were these words so normal? I should be freaking out.

I shook myself out of it and looked back at the E-Pad.

Oh.

That was odd.

Tamotsu had found residue of something silvery on one of Eiji's hands. Not only that, but the residue was also in his hair, where his skull had cracked. Surprisingly, there was no blood, which, according to the E-Pad, meant that the wound was internal. Then...it would have been caused by blunt force trauma, right?

But what would have caused that?

"Are you finished, Mr. Seiko?" Tamotsu asked.

"Uhm, yeah, I think so. Thanks." I replied, handing him back the E-Pad. The Cello Player nodded to me and began walking to the front of the dress circle. I decided to leave them to their investigation and headed back downstairs.

In a moment, I found myself in the wings of the stage, looking around for any signs of disturbance around the area. Surprisingly, though, nothing seemed to be out of place.

However...it did look emptier than before. I thought back to the first day I spent in here; when I had met Yuudai.

There had been rows upon rows of props, costumes, sets...but now, it looked like some of it was missing.

Was my mind playing tricks on me, or was there actually less stuff in here?

There was a way I could probably check it out...I turned to the racks of costumes and began rifling through them, checking for it. After a few moments, I found what I was looking for.

Surprisingly, there was still a neon pink stain on the costume, in the shape of Yuudai's handprint. It was the same colour it had been when he scared me, like fresh blood, and as I stared at it my E-Pad jingled.

Frowning, I pulled it out of my pocket.

Evidence

An image of the stained costume appeared, along with text;

A costume stained with what looks to be blood found in the backstage area of Yuudai Kenen's Talent Room. The blood is actually from a faux blood-pack provided with the props.

Wait. Did I get that extra information about it being fake because I was the one who experienced it, or because Monoko didn't want to mislead everyone?

For some reason, I had the feeling that the answer was the former rather than the latter...after all, Monoko wasn't on our side.

I turned to leave, when, once again, the cat appeared out of nowhere, right in front of me. This time I just glared at him, annoyed.

"What is it now?" I asked.

"Oiya, don't get nasty with me!" Monoko waved its paws around, "I just want to help!"

"You've already explained everything." I said.

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong! I can't believe you think you know better than the cuddly, compassionate Monoko! It's like I'm dealing with a group of teenagers or something!" Monoko fumed. Seemingly completely unaware of the idiocy of its statement, it continued.

"There's an addition to the evidence tab of your E-Pad! I may or may not have just added it, but if you look on the right side, you can see a little circle button with a plus symbol. That's a notes tab! You can use it for testimonies, evidence, or anything else you think might be useful!" Monoko seemed to sparkle with glee, "What a fair cat I am!" And with that, it disappeared again. Frowning, I pulled my E-Pad out to check, and saw the icon. I tapped on it and something akin to a notes app opened, though this time it said 'testimonies and other' up the top, and had the design of a bloodstained piece of paper as the background. I winced.

Not really knowing what to do next, I continued searching backstage, and, surprisingly, found something else.

Lying on the floor at the back of the area was a semi-assembled costume rack. A few screws were scattered around it, and a screwdriver lay only a few feet away, as if the person trying to put it together had run out of time. I bent down, inspecting it, and noticed that one of the metal rods was slightly bent, like something had been hit with some force. My E-Pad jingled.

A disassembled silver costume rack found backstage in Yuudai Kenen's Talent Room. One of the rods is slightly bent.

"Helpful..." I grumbled.

In the end, I decided to try and find Kioko to continue what I was meant to be doing; testimonies.

I finally left the theatre, and for a moment the pressure on my shoulders lifted.

That was, until a certain two people decided to come up to me.

"Ah, Asahi Seiko. I was just looking for you." Alastor Yashin said amicably.

"You're doing testimonies or whatever, yeah?" Michi Katsu asked, "I've got something important, so you better listen up."

"If it will help find who the culprit is, I'm all ears." I replied.

"You think what I'm going to say wouldn't help you find the culprit? Who do you think you are, Asahi Seiko? My testimony is the most important one! I know who the killer is!" Michi shouted, crossing his arms.

"Really?!" My eyes widened.

"Of course! Last night, I went into Yuudai's Talent Room because I heard noises from outside while I was practising my speed skating. When I went in to see what was happening, I saw Eiji attacking someone! I went in to help, like anyone would, but I was too late! The killer got Eiji on the ground and punched him in the stomach, then turned to attack me. Obviously, I was going to fight back. I skated towards them and knocked their feet out from under them! Then I punched them in the arm. But they almost knocked me out me once they got up, and I had to retreat back into my room." Michi explained, exaggerating his words with dramatic arm movements and gestures.

"But who was the killer?" I asked. I wasn't entirely unconvinced of his statement, but he could be onto something.

"Well, the killer was none other than...Sora Yukiko!" Michi shouted.

Ah.

So he was bullshitting.

"That's quite an elaborate story." Alastor said, tilting his head, "but I cannot see Yukiko being the type to kill."

"Ha! You haven't met the real Sora. She's a mastermind, I tell you. She would kill anyone to get her way, given the chance! Have you seen how successful she's become? Nobody can do that at her age without some...bloodshed." A wry smile crossed over the Ultimate Speed Skater's lips.

"I assume you and Yukiko have a history, then." Alastor stated.

"Of course we do. Two athletes, battling it out to see who can become the best. She was always after my crown, and she decided the best way to do that was to get into the olympics." Michi said.

"That's an...elaborate story." Alastor replied.

"Ha! Of course it is! When you're in the public spotlight, you get tonsa stories! Nothing like you...less talented people would have." Michi said.

"I don't think Eiji would be the type to start a fight." I ran a hand through my hair, "He's not that strong...and against the tallest person in this group..." I drifted off. Michi was giving me a look.

"Are you doubting my testimony, Seiko?" He asked.

"Well, it is a little bit outlandish." Alastor began to mess with the buttons on his shirt sleeves, uninterested.

Michi looked to him, then to me, then back again, aghast, "Just because you don't believe me, you're willing to sacrifice everyone else? I'm telling you, I saw Sora Yukiko at the scene of the crime!" He shouted, "what reason do you have to not believe me? You weren't there last night, were you? You weren't skating with me, were you? I'm telling you, Seiko, I saw what happened and I know who the killer is!" The Speed Skater continued to rant and rave.

Finally, more to shut him up then to actually gather evidence, I pulled my E-Pad out and opened a note, putting a dot-point summary of Michi's testimony. When I showed him, he seemed to calm, and looked pleased. I let out a breath of relief. Now I could move on to other things.

"Alastor, do you have an alibi for the time of the murder?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, Seiko, I do not. I was with Sora Yukiko up until around seven o'clock last night, before I decided to move to my room and prepare for bed. I did, however, see a few people in the halls." Alastor said.

"Can you name them?" I asked.

"Of course. First, I saw Kaida Satsuki talking to Fuyutake Ganko. Then, I saw Seiichi Shigeru leaving his talent room, alone. Yuudai Kenen, Rouko Soba and Kyung Hye were talking outside of Kenen's bedroom. I believe that was everyone I saw." Alastor thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Did you see anything suspicious in the lead-up to the victim's...death?" I couldn't bring myself to say his name yet. Some part of me still wouldn't believe it. If I did...if I allowed myself to feel that despair, I didn't know if I would be able to think straight enough to convict the right person in the trial.

Alastor shook his head, "Everyone was acting normally last night."

"Oh." I ran a hand through my hair, "Well, Katsu, Alastor, thanks for your testimonies. You've...helped." I said the last part trying to sound convincing, but realised it hadn't worked when, as I tried to leave, Alastor put a hand on my shoulder.

"I wouldn't worry so much, Seiko. We have fifteen people who are all collecting evidence; I'm sure we'll convict the right person." He said, before walking away.

His words had helped, though, and I felt a little bit of weight lifted off my shoulders.

Of course. We had fifteen people, all Ultimates, all with their own sets of skills which could help. With everyone working together...we could do this.

And now, because of Alastor's testimony, I knew who I had to ask. I looked at the list I had written down, and decided to talk to Rouko and Kyung first.

But before that, I had to find Kioko.

The Board Gamer was wandering the halls around the centre courtyard, looking a little bit lost. As soon as she saw me, however, her face brightened.

"Asahi!" She jogged over, "I think I have some evidence. I was talking to Aimi and got her testimony, but she said to talk to Fuyutake. So I talked to her, and she told me to see Seiichi. I was just about to go find him." She explained. Surprisingly, she was in a much better mood than earlier.

"Oh, uhm, I was going to talk to Rouko and Kyung. Alastor gave me a list of people he saw outside last night." I said.

"Woah, you did better than me!" Kioko looked at my E-Pad, "who's on the list?"

I showed her.

"Oh, I see now!" She nodded, "Seiichi was on the list anyway, so I was on the right track. Maybe we should split up again so we can get as many people's testimonies as possible."

"That's a really good idea, Kioko." I said. The Board Gamer grinned.

"I told you, I'm the master of Clue! In Clue, you have to split up and find your own evidence. Of course, in Clue you're competing against each other, but here we can all share our evidence since we're working together!" She gave me a thumbs up, "I'm smarter than you think, Asahi!"

And with that, she disappeared towards the talent rooms, to find Seiichi.

I smiled at her antics, then continued on my own way, finding the Exchange Student and Translator in the hall, not doing a lot of investigating.

"Rouko, Kyung." I greeted them. Rouko waved at me, Kyung offered a weak smile.

"Have you...found things?" She asked.

"A bit." I ran a hand through my hair, "I'm actually here to collect testimonies."

"Oh, right! I can help with that!" Rouko said, "Kyung and I were together all day yesterday, so her testimony is mine and vice versa!"

"'Vice versa'?" I asked.

"Oh." Rouko went pink, "that was a bit of English coming out. Uhm, vice versa is a Latin phrase that English speakers use to say 'the other way around'." She explained. There was an awkward pause as we both waited for someone to speak, until, finally, Kyung spoke up.

"Kuhhh, yesterday...we walked around...and talked to people..." She paused, "Yuudai had a very...fun time."

"Fun time?" I asked. Kyung paused, thought about it, and then turned to Rouko, speaking to her in Korean. Finally, Rouko turned to me.

"She means he was really interesting to talk to. Kyung and him both have twin siblings, so they struck up a conversation about it." Rouko explained.

"It was...too much funny." Kyung laughed. Rouko smiled and spoke to her, and from Kyung's interested expression I could only assume she was correcting the Exchange Student.

"Uhm, did you notice anything suspicious yesterday?" I asked.

Rouko hummed to herself, "nothing really." She shrugged.

Seeing nothing else to ask, I decided to move on to the next person on the list; Yuudai. The last time I had seen him, he had been chasing after Seiichi. With the way the Tailor had been acting, he had most likely gone to his room, so I decided to head up towards the dorms.

Along the way, I ran into Fuyutake and Kaida.

"Asahi! Just the person I wanted to see. I have something important to talk to you about." Fuyutake said.

"Is it about the investigation?" I asked.

"Yep! How did you guess?" Fuyutake joked, but neither Kaida nor I were too impressed. Seeing this, the Graffiti Artist coughed awkwardly and tugged on one of her plaits.

"I'm not sure if you've talked to him about this yet, but I saw Yuudai acting suspicious last night." She explained.

"Suspicious? What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, at around eight o'clock, I was going to my Talent Room because I'd forgotten my face mask in there, and when I was walking around I saw Yuudai outside his talent room. He looked really distressed, and when I called out to him he was kind of stumbling over his words. He ran away pretty quickly afterwards." Fuyutake explained.

"I noticed that too." Kaida said, "I was alone most of the afternoon in the hall, talking to Fuyu, and only left around eight-thirty to go back to my room. Yuudai noticed me when he was at the classrooms and ran inside, holding something."

"That's...pretty damning evidence." I ran a hand through my hair. It was almost like this investigation had gone from being too hard to too easy. It made me suspicious; was there a lie somewhere?

Both girls stayed stony-faced, revealing nothing.

Hurriedly, I thanked them and made for the dorm rooms. There was someone I could ask to clear it all up, if they didn't lie.

Yuudai Kenen looked completely lost, standing at the end of the hallway and inspecting Eiji's bedroom door, though half-heartedly.

"Yuudai." I called out. He jumped, looking over, but as soon as he noticed me he relaxed.

"Asahi, I think people are beginning to suspect me." He said when I came closer.

"I wouldn't be surprised. A lot of people saw you outside last night." I replied.

"Don't tell me that! You're supposed to be helping me!" The Theatre Manager cried, "what hell doth await me at the end of this pitch black malaise called 'life'?" He fell to the ground and threw his hands up in the air dramatically.

"Ah, sorry, Yuudai." I ran a hand through my hair, "maybe if you give me your testimony, it'll help your case?"

"Eh?" Yuudai paused, "are you sure?"

"As long as you tell the truth." I replied.

"Uhm, okay then." The Theatre Manager stood up, "I spent most of yesterday with Rouko and Kyung; we were just walking around and chatting. Then I went to my talent room at six-thirty to find something backstage. I couldn't find it, so I left to go back to my room. I ran into Kaida along the way. She was carrying a few tools and talking to Fuyutake. Then I went back to my room and fell asleep." He said.

"Why was Kaida holding tools?" I asked.

"Oh, uhm...from what I remember, she said she wanted to help set up a shelf in Fuyutake's talent room." Yuudai took his glasses off and rubbed them on his shirt.

Thanks, Yuudai." I nodded to him, writing down everything, and turned to leave.

"Wait." Yuudai grabbed my arm, "you promise you'll prove me innocent, right?" He asked.

"I'll...do my best." I replied. Seemingly satisfied, the Theatre Manager let me go.

I looked back over his testimony. Some things didn't seem to line up...

Ding dong bing bong!

"Attention, kiddos! Your investigation time is up, so get your butts to the black and white door at the end of the south hallway, so we can begin the class trial!"

My heart dropped.

Had I gathered enough evidence?

I made my way to the doors, lost in thoughts, reviewing my evidence.

Somebody had tried to cover up their crime, and it was our job to find out who.

Though we didn't know anything about that kind of stuff, we were being forced to find out who killed Eiji, lest we lose our own lives as well.

If everything I had was true, then we would surely be able to find who killed him.

But if the murderer was lying, then that could make all of my testimonies useless. Any one of them could be a complete lie. Especially for the people who were alone...I could only hope for the best, though, as suddenly a loud dinging noise came from the door, and the two halves separated to reveal a huge elevator.

We all looked at each other warily before stepping in, and as the doors slid closed behind us and the elevator started moving down, I felt my own heart beginning to drop as well.

The elevator shuddered downwards, and as it did I looked around at everyone, taking in their faces, their body language, as if that would help me find who did it.

It was one of us.

As much as I didn't want it to be...

"Asahi." I looked over to see Kioko Kozakura, ashen-faced.

"Hi." I replied. I wasn't sure what else I could say.

"Are you...worried?" She asked, shuffling her feet. I looked to the ceiling of the elevator, then at her, then at the floor.

"No." I lied.

"Oh," Kioko smiled, "that's great. If you know who the killer is, then we'll all survive."

My only reply was a simple nod. I couldn't trust my voice.

As much as I had wanted to tell her about my churning stomach, my racing thoughts, I didn't want to make her any more worried than she was.

If all of us were confident...what could go wrong?

The elevator stopped so suddenly a few people stumbled a little. Slowly, the doors opened, and Monoko led the way out, now carrying a bright pink flag behind it. We walked down a long, dim hallway.

Tension rose.

And then, suddenly, we were in a cavernous room with a circle of podiums in the centre. A throne stood at one end, higher than the podiums, and around the edges of the room were hundreds of empty seats.

It was like a colosseum.

A digital screen wrapped around the edges of the room, flashing the words 'Class Trial 1' at us in obnoxious pink text. The podiums were a simple dark wood, and on each one was a small plaque; a name tag.

Everyone spread out, finding their name tags.

I stood on the opposite side of the throne, between Sora Yukiko and Kaida Satsuki. I looked at Kaida; she gave me a reassuring, if worried, smile. I looked at Sora; she was tapping her foot impatiently, a murderous look on her face.

It was as I was looking at Sora that I realised something.

We were missing two students.

Next to Sora's podium stood an empty one, and a few podiums over was another. But, instead of being empty, this one held a large picture frame.

And inside that picture frame, with a neon pink airplane flying over his face, was Eiji Hikou; saluting to the camera, a huge smile on his face.

A black and white bow was tied in the middle of the frame, with ribbons draped over each side. A small candle, unlit, was in front.

My stomach twisted.

Moments passed, and the room was silent. Everybody waited for something to happen, but nothing did. Monoko had somehow disappeared in the space between when we first entered the room and when we took our spots at the podiums, and was nowhere to be seen.

Tension rose, and a heavy weight seemed to push onto my shoulders as the weight of the situation sunk in.

Despair crept at the corners of my mind.

Maybe we wouldn't solve it.

Maybe we would all die, cramped in this room somewhere underground, where the sun would never show.

"I'm moving." A voice broke through my thoughts and I looked over to see Kyung Hye stepping off her podium.

"Where to?" Tamotsu Ryuunosuke asked.

"Rouko." Kyung replied.

"What if I want to stay here?" Michi Katsu asked. He was standing next to the Translator.

"Seiichi and I can move." Kioko said, stepping off her podium, "I'll go next to Tamotsu."

"Should we take the plaques off and move them?" Seiichi Shigeru gripped onto his and began pulling on it, but it wouldn't budge.

"As long as you remember which name you are standing in front of, I would say that it does not matter that much." Tamotsu said.

Seiichi shrugged and everyone shifted their spots until Rouko and Kyung were standing next to each other. Michi just harrumphed and flicked a piece of hair out of his face.

There was silence once again.

"Geez, what's taking it so long?" Yuudai Kenen finally asked.

"If the teacher doesn't arrive after fifteen minutes, we can leave." Fuyutake Ganko stated.

"But Monoko calls itself the principal." Yuudai replied.

"Probably the same rules." Fuyutake shrugged.

"Oh, is Monoko broken again?" Aimi Minori asked.

"Eh?" Kaida Satsuki asked, "when did it break?"

"Do you remember when we first arrived, and were called into the hall? Monoko wasn't working when we showed up, so they played us that video instead." Aimi said.

"Let's talk...about something different." Rei Amaterasu murmured, "I do not...like the cat."

Michi Katsu barked out a laugh.

"You're the creepiest person here! As if you wouldn't like a teddy cat that enjoys murder." He said. Rei shot him a glare but didn't respond.

"Miss. Amaterasu means no harm. Please leave her alone, Mr. Katsu." Tamotsu said.

"Oh great, Dad's involved himself now." Michi rolled his eyes.

"I would much rather be referred to as a friend instead of a parent." Tamotsu replied.

"You've spent this entire fuckin' time pushing us around and acting like an overprotective parent. I mean, you even have the grey hair to prove it." Michi flipped Tamotsu off.

"Oh shut up, would you?" Sora Yukiko asked, "in case you haven't noticed, somebody is dead."

"Fuckin' glad it wasn't me." Michi snorted.

My mouth fell open in shock.

But, right as Sora stepped off her podium towards him, a loud popping sound came from the throne, and, suddenly Monoko was there, confetti raining from the ceiling.

"I heard you gossiping about me." It said.

Fuyutake shrugged, "so?"

"You," Monoko pointed to the Graffiti Artist, "you may have been right about that rule from earlier. But, luckily for me, I got here in fourteen minutes and fifty eight seconds, which means you don't get to leave! Also, I've changed the rules! From now on, time limits don't exist for when I, your cuddly, compassionate mascot Monoko, can arrive!" The cat stated.

"Why were you so late?" Seiichi asked.

"Ufufufu, about that." Monoko giggled, "there's someone I'd like to introduce you to.

"A certain student has made this trial delayed because they weren't leaving their room!" Monoko gestured behind us, "you have this kiddo to thank!"

Immediately I knew who he was talking about.

The one I had only briefly seen.

I could barely remember what the kid had looked like, but for a person that had been missing for the entirety of the time we had been here, I knew I had to expect something interesting.

I turned to the elevator doors, and as they opened, my expectations were shattered.

Out of the door walked a slouched, navy haired boy with matching eyes and a grey hoodie, his hands shoved deep in the pockets. He had a simple navy blazer tied around his hips and, as he made his way to his stand, I noticed he shuffled his feet, making small steps.

The room was dead silent as he took the final stand, next to Sora Yukiko.

He didn't speak.

He just stared at the podium, unmoving.

"Are you just gonna fuckin' stand there?!" Michi suddenly shouted, breaking the silence.

"Eh?" I looked over at him, surprised. He turned to me and scoffed.

"You don't think he should fuckin' introduce himself? The shit's been M.I.A for this entire time, and suddenly he shows up at a fuckin' class trial, of all things, and we're just supposed to accept it? He coulda killed Hikou!" He shouted.

"I'm sure he has an explanation." Aimi said, making a 'calm down' gesture with her hands.

"He has no fuckin' alibi, though!" Michi yelled, "come on! Tell us what you were doin' when Hikou was killed! Tell us!"

"We can't suspect just him. I'm sure there are other people who would've been capable." Seiichi said, voice quiet.

"You wanna fuckin' suspect someone you know?" Michi asked.

"I don't know who I want to suspect, Katsu. We need to go over the facts." Seiichi replied.

"The facts are that bastard over there has been invisible until now and everyone's just fuckin' letting him get away with it! There's nobody else who coulda murdered Hikou!" Michi yelled, slamming a hand on the podium.

The navy-haired boy flinched at the words.

"Katsu, you're wrong." Aimi said, "we do have evidence."

"What fuckin' evidence?!" Michi crossed his arms and lifted his chin, staring at the Harajuku Fashionista from down his nose.

"Some people don't have alibis." I spoke up.

"Oiya, kiddos!" Monoko shouted. Everyone paused, looking at it.

"This is all well and good - actually, I'm quite impressed with how fast this started - but I need to explain the rules!" It said.

"What rules?" Rouko Soba asked.

"That's what I was gonna explain before you interrupted me!" Monoko fumed, "now shush, everyone!" The cat cleared its non-existent throat, pulled a pair of big glasses from nowhere and pushed them up its nose.

"The Class Trial is where you will converse with each other to find out who the Blackened is! To do this, you can look at your E-Pads and find evidence to discuss. You've already started on alibis, but every piece of evidence you have is evidence you can discuss with the group. Once you've discussed everything and have a suspect, you vote for who you think the Blackened is! If you get it right, only the Blackened gets punished. If you get it wrong, though...all of you are punished.

"What do I mean by 'punished', I see Mister. Theatre Manager about to ask?" The offending boy's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"Well...punishment means execution. Which means you all die, and the Blackened goes free!" Monoko explained.

"So you're saying that our lives are on the line?" Fuyutake asked.

"Most definitely!" Monoko replied.

"You're disgusting." Kaida spat.

"Ufufufu, maybe so. But, you know what's more disgusting? The fact that one of you killed a dear friend!" Monoko cackled.

"Monoko, if I may ask a question," Tamotsu Ryuunosuke raised a hand, "What is your reasoning behind having Mr. Hikou's image here?"

"That's another rule! Every student must be present for a class trial!" Monoko leaned back on its throne, "anyway, enough questions. Start talking!"

"He's the culprit!" Michi shouted again, pointing to the new boy.

"Hold on a moment, Katsu. He hasn't even had a chance to defend, let alone introduce, himself." Alastor Yashin said.

"What will introducing himself do?" Michi snorted.

"Can somebody gag him?" Sora asked.

"Shut the fuck up!" Michi shouted.

"Can everybody please quiet down?" Tamotsu asked, "we should let the boy speak for himself."

Surprisingly, everyone fell silent, watching the navy-haired boy. He seemed to shrink, pulling his hood up so it concealed his face.

But, after a few seconds, he spoke.

"M-my name is...my name is Hisoka Yuuto." He stuttered, voice almost a whisper.

"What's your talent?" Aimi asked.

"I d-don't have one." Hisoka replied, even quieter.

"Eh?" Kioko gasped.

"An outsider." Rei Amaterasu murmured.

"Monoko, why is someone with no talent here?" Alastor asked.

"I can't tell you~!" Monoko sang.

"We need to get back on track." I said.

"Ah, I suppose so. After all, we are here for a reason." Alastor said.

"But...where do we begin?" Kyung Hye asked.

"The body." Rei murmured.

"Wrong! We start with why Hisoka Yuuto is the murderer!" Michi shouted, "that kid is even more suspicious than Sora Yukiko!"

"Why me?" Sora asked.

"I saw you last night." Michi said.

"So? A lot of people saw me last night." Sora raised an eyebrow.

"But I saw you near Kenen's Talent Room!" Michi said. Sora let out a sharp laugh.

"What are you on about, Katsu?" She crossed her arms, "You aren't accusing me, are you?"

"I am accusing you, Yukiko. I saw you at the murder scene last night!" Michi pointed at the Snowboarder.

"Huh?! Are you stupid? I was nowhere near Kenen's Talent Room!" Sora replied.

"Yeah you were!"

"No, I wasn't!"

"You were!"

"I wasn't!"

"Hold it!" I shouted, getting everyone's attention.

"The fanboy speaks!" Sora said.

"We can't start this by throwing accusations around. So far, Katsu, you've accused two people of being the killer, but without evidence we can neither disprove nor prove that you're right. We need to start with the hard facts of the case, and the best place to start, as Rei said, is with the body!" I leaned back on my podium, my hands shaking with adrenaline. That was probably the most I had spoken in front of this group so far. I hadn't gotten that angry in a long, long time.

After a few seconds of quiet, Tamotsu finally broke the silence, "Mr. Seiko is correct."

Surprisingly, Michi stayed silent, and so did Sora.

"The body." Rei looked at Eiji's image, then Tamotsu.

"Ah, yes. On par with the 'Monoko-File', Eiji's wounds were the same. A cracked skull, three broken ribs and a crushed trachea." Tamotsu explained.

"Then, he was probably hit with something." Fuyutake said.

"That could be a possibility." Aimi Minori sighed, "but what was he hit with?"

"It's obvious. The killer's fists were the murder weapon." Kioko jumped into a fighting stance.

"That makes sense...but who's strong enough to beat someone to the point of breaking bones?" Alastor asked.

"Ain't it fuckin' obvious?" Michi shouted, "Sora Yukiko!"

"What's your deal?" Sora scoffed.

"You're the strongest fuckin' person here, other than me, and I saw you at the talent room last night!" Michi replied.

"What's to say you didn't do it, Katsu?" Sora growled, "you were at the talent room too if you saw me."

"I would never fuckin' kill someone weaker than me!" Michi replied.

"It seems we have two suspects already." Alastor said, "I wonder, what'll happen next?"

"What'll happen next is we all vote for Yukiko and she gets punished for being a filthy murderer!" Michi shouted.

"Or we all vote for the right person and survive!" Sora refuted, "and get rid of a useless excuse of a human in addition!"

"Ha!" Michi spat, "you can talk all you want, but Seiko has my testimony, which proves me innocent!" He pointed to me.

"Eh?!" I asked.

"Is that true, Fanboy?" Sora asked. She glared at me.

"I-I mean...I have a testimony, but it's not that convincing." I ran a hand through my hair.

"Read it, Seiko!" Michi shouted.

"Go on, Fanboy. Prove that I'm the murderer with Katsu's bullshit." Sora growled.

"U-uhm..." I looked between the two, frozen in place.

"Mr. Seiko, I must urge you to share any evidence you might have." Tamotsu said after a moment. I looked at everyone, then Michi, and sighed, opening my notes tab.

"Michi says he saw Sora fighting Eiji. He tried to help him, but Sora fought back and he ran away." I stated.

"I made a tactical retreat from the situation." Michi growled.

"Look at the class idiot, using big words to make himself more convincing." Sora mocked, "listen up. I've got absolute proof I was nowhere near the talent rooms yesterday."

"And what's that?" Michi snorted.

"My alibi." Sora pointed to Alastor, "I was with him all day."

"Can you confirm that, Mr. Yashin?" Tamotsu asked.

"Certainly. Yukiko and I were in the Hall until around seven o'clock last night, and then we both went to our respective dorm rooms." Alastor said.

"That's a fuckin' weak ass alibi!" Michi shouted, "Yukiko had plenty of time to kill Hikou!"

"That's completely false!" Seiichi yelled, "Shut your mouth before I sew it closed!"

"The fuck are you on about?" Michi asked.

"Your entire reason for accusing Sora is because of some fictional story you made up. We need to move on or we'll be here forever!" Seiichi replied.

"Til' our death days! When this mortal coil finally wraps around our hearts and squeezes them until they stop beating!" Yuudai cried, "to be or not to be! To end this trial or not to end this trial!"

"The dress circle." Rei said.

"What?" Yuudai asked dumbly.

"Woah! You changed so quickly I almost got whiplash!" Kioko gasped.

"There is...no safety." Rei said.

"Yes there is! The handrail!" Yuudai replied. Rei just stared at him. He began to wither almost immediately, covering his face.

"Are you saying he was pushed?" Aimi asked.

"It is...a possibility." Rei said.

"I am certain I heard Miss. Kozakura saying something about that." Tamotsu said.

"Eh? Oh, that's right!" Kioko said, "my Papa told me that the most common injury for people who fall from heights is broken ribs or skulls."

"If Hikou was, in fact, pushed, that could be a huge break." Alastor said.

"How come?" Fuyutake asked.

"The only people who knew about the dress circle's entrance before the investigation were Kenen, Seiko, Satsuki, Kozakura, Ryuunosuke, Amaterasu and I." He explained.

"That means..." Seiichi gasped, "the list of potential culprits is so much smaller!"

"So...he was pushed over the edge of the dress circle!" Kioko shouted.

"No, that's wrong! You're designing lies!" Kaida's voice cut through the room.

"E-eh?" Kioko asked, ashen-faced.

"Don't you remember? The wall in the dress circle is way too high to be pushing people over!" Kaida shouted, "there has to be some kind of safety!"

"It's only up to the top of my thigh, actually." I explained.

"That's way too short! How come none of us knew it was there if the wall was so short?" Rouko argued.

"You would've been able to see it if you went onstage." Yuudai explained, "the dress circle's designed so that you don't see the people below you, in the stalls."

"And why would someone design it like that?" Alastor asked.

"It's for a more intimate experience. Nobody wants to see a hundred other strangers below them when they're trying to watch a show." Yuudai pressed a hand to his forehead, annoyed.

"That sounds stupid." Michi snorted.

"Whaddya mean, stupid? It's a feat of designing prowess!" Yuudai cried.

"'It's a feat of designing prowess'." Michi mocked, rolling his eyes, "listen up! If it was such a feat, how come people can so easily be pushed off of it?"

"Because you have to see the show somehow! And people aren't stupid enough to go falling over anyway!" Yuudai shouted.

"W-we're getting sidetracked." Hisoka Yuuto suddenly spoke up, shocking everyone. We all turned to him expectantly, and in return he pulled on his hoodie strings nervously, tightening the material around his face.

"U-uhm...we need to-to talk a-about other things." He stuttered.

"You've got a lot of confidence for someone who doesn't even know any of us." Michi snarked. Hisoka shrunk back into his hoodie further, pulling the string until only his nose poked out.

"Fuckin' wuss." Michi snorted.

"He's right." I defended, "we need to focus on other things. There's still evidence we haven't gone over yet." I said.

"Yeah. Like, we still don't know if Eiji was pushed or hit." Fuyutake said.

"What?! I thought we said he was pushed!" Seiichi, aghast, began pulling on the measuring tape around his neck.

"We don't have evidence for it." Aimi replied.

"We're never gonna solve this." Yuudai groaned.

"Hey, don't lose hope just yet. There's fifteen of us." Aimi said.

"And we have evidence." Kioko added.

"What is it?" Seiichi asked.

"Asahi and I found one of Eiji's pins in the dress circle!" The Board Gamer replied.

"What was it doing up there?" Rouko asked.

"It's proving that Eiji was pushed." Kioko put her hands on her hips, staring at us all proudly.

"Uhm, Kioko..." I started.

"What?" She asked.

"I might have evidence that counteracts that." I replied.

"E-eh?!" She gasped, "but we were so close to figuring it out!"

"I know..." I trailed off, biting my lip. If I shared this evidence, it would put us back majorly. But if we convicted the wrong person...we could all die.

"Mr. Seiko, what is this evidence?" Tamotsu asked.

I opened the tab I needed on my E-Pad, staring at the evidence, "it's...a disassembled costume rack. I found it backstage. One of the rods has a dent in it." I explained.

"A costume rack...wouldn't be strong enough...to leave those injuries." Rei replied, killing my argument before it had even started.

"The racks are kind of flimsy." Kaida tilted her head, "I don't know how they hold as much material as they do."

"That's because good costumes are built to be light!" Seiichi explained, "so actors aren't all stuffy and overheated on stage."

"He's telling the truth. If you get hot on stage, you might leave sweat stains. Or worse...your makeup melts off." Yuudai gasped, "oh, the humanity!"

"How are you still taking the time to be dramatic in this situation?" Sora asked.

"I'm stressed!" Yuudai replied.

"Stress-acting?" Kioko asked.

"I've heard of things like that. It's actually quite common." Alastor said.

"Really? What happens?" Kioko asked.

"Well, once I had a friend who-" I let Alastor continue talking, trying to piece together the information I had so far. I was sure something was wrong with it, but I couldn't figure out what. It seemed like everyone was telling different stories from what they had shared with me during the investigation. What could help us figure out who it was? What evidence did I have?

A morbid silence filled the room as we all realised. We had been here so long...some part of me wished the culprit would just come out and say they did it.

"It was Yuudai Kenen!" Michi suddenly shouted across the room. The Theatre Manager blinked a few times, shocked at the sudden outburst.

"How come?" Rei asked.

"There was a bloody handprint on one of the costumes!" Michi shouted.

"That could be anyone's handprint, though." Rouko frowned.

"No, it's definitely Kenen's." Michi held his hand up and began pointing to things, "a man's hand is much bigger than a woman's, and the fingers are thicker. But Kenen's hand is very womanly, and the handprint was girly. It wasn't girly enough to be a girl's handprint, but it was enough to trick someone who might have thought otherwise." He said.

"My hands aren't girly!" Yuudai gasped.

"They are!" Michi replied.

"I have very manly hands." Yuudai said.

"Show us, then." Michi said.

Yuudai lifted his hand, "fine."

In a second, Michi was off his podium and next to the Theatre Manager's, reaching over to his hand.

Yuudai leaped backwards in shock, but the Speed Skater already had a grip on him.

"Look at his hand. It's oval-shaped, where men's are square-shaped. And the fingers are slender." He began pointing out differences.

"What kinda pseudoscience shit are you trying to pull?" Sora asked, "that handprint could've been anyone's!"

"It was Yuudai's!" Michi replied.

"It wasn't mine!" Yuudai cried.

"What evidence do you have to prove otherwise?" Michi asked, finally moving back to his own podium. Yuudai visibly shivered. I looked down at my E-Pad, opening the piece of evidence about the handprint.

Realisation hit me like a brick.

"Both of you are wrong." I said.

"What?!" Michi shouted.

"There was no blood at the scene." I said, "in fact, there was no blood anywhere."

"So what? Maybe Kenen managed to get cut by Hikou in the fight!" Michi shouted.

"Uhm, that's wrong." Sora replied.

"The blood is from something different." I said.

"What the fuck's it from, then?" Michi scowled.

"Do you remember, Yuudai?" I asked the Theatre Manager.

"Eh?" He stared at me, confused, but then it seemed to click, "oh, you're talking about that thing! Well, when I first met Asahi, we were backstage in my talent room, and Asahi was holding one of the swords.

"I didn't realise it was real, so I thought I would prank him and pretend he cut my hand, and...well, I kinda scared him...a lot." Yuudai took his glasses off and began cleaning them.

"That's...a little bit cruel." Kyung scratched her head.

"But it means I'm innocent!" Yuudai replied.

"Even without that information, it would have been quite easy to see that it was fake." Alastor gestured for me to bring the photo back up, which I did. He pointed to the stain, "the 'blood' is still bright pink, like fresh blood. If it was real, it would have turned to a deep pink or magenta colour by now." He explained.

"So...now that we've worked that out, where do we go next?" Aimi asked.

"Alibis." Sora said, "we can narrow down the list of suspects even more if we find out everyone's alibis."

"Oh, that's right!" Kioko gasped, "Asahi and I were on alibis!"

"Who - if we're assuming Eiji was pushed - out of the six who knew about the dress circle, have alibis?" Sora asked.

"From what my E-Pad says..." I scrolled through my notes, "Kioko and I. Rei, Kaida, Tamotsu and Yuudai don't have any alibis listed."

"Then it's obviously Rei." Michi said, "she's the most suspicious."

"She had the motive too! She said she wanted somebody to die." Fuyutake explained.

"She probably wanted someone to communicate with." Seiichi's lip curled.

"Well, Rei? What do you have to say for yourself?" Kaida asked.

"It...wasn't me." Rei murmured, "I was...in the classrooms."

"Can anyone prove that?" Michi asked.

"The spirits." Rei replied.

"Ha! What a stupid alibi!" Kaida laughed.

"It is...the truth." Rei replied, a hint of a annoyance crossing her face.

"Well, we know who did it now, so we might as well start voti-" Michi was cut off.

"Allow me to interrupt." Tamotsu called, "I can confirm Miss. Amaterasu's alibi."

I frowned.

No he can't. Rei said she didn't see anyone.

Speaking of, the Exorcist looked a little shocked at the statement.

"I saw Miss. Amaterasu leaving the classroom last night." He said.

"What time?" Fuyutake asked.

"Around eight o'clock. She went into her dorm room." Tamotsu said.

He was lying.

But as much as I wanted to point out his lie, I also knew that he had never given us any reason not to trust him. He had always been genuine...

Against my better judgement, I decided to let his statement slide, and continue with the trial. I could always argue the point again later.

"Wait, then everyone cleared out of the halls between seven and eight?" Alastor asked.

"Uhm, I guess so." Rouko shrugged, "Kyung and I left to hang out in her room at about seven-twenty."

"Fuyutake and I went to our rooms at seven-fourty-ish." Kaida shrugged.

"Seiichi?" Alastor asked.

"Huh?" The Tailor frowned.

"I saw you leave your room last night. Where were you going?" He asked.

"I was going to my talent room. I needed material." Seiichi replied.

"Can anybody confirm that?" Alastor asked.

"I can." Yuudai put his hand up, and froze.

"So you were near the talent rooms." Michi raised an eyebrow, "I knew I couldn't fuckin' trust your hands!"

"Wait, this is a mistake! It wasn't me!" Yuudai waved his hands.

"I mean, I said hi to Yuudai, but I went straight to my room afterwards." Seiichi murmured.

"And who can prove that?" Sora asked.

"W-well, uh..." Seiichi stuttered, before pointing at Yuudai, "I didn't know about the costume racks! I've never been backstage!"

"Oh really? Because you sure knew a lot about them, considering you haven't 'seen them'." Yuudai retorted.

"That's because I tailor costumes! Just because you're the theatre nerd of this group doesn't mean you're the only one that knows about the theatre." Seiichi spat.

"I can back Seiichi." We all looked over to see Rouko.

"Eh?" Yuudai asked.

"I asked him to tailor my clothes a couple of days ago, and he gave them back this morning. He said I was lucky he had finished them last night, since he had to get extra materials from his talent room." She explained.

"Exactly!" Seiichi shouted, glee filling his voice.

"He could have just as easily worked all night after the murder." Alastor said.

"Exactly not!" Seiichi shouted.

"What do you mean?" Alastor asked.

"Well, since I had been working on things the whole time I've been here, Monoko got kinda annoyed and told me I should be talking to people instead of working. So it confiscated the sewing machine in my room at 10pm, when everything locks up." Seiichi explained.

"Is that true, Monoko?" Kyung asked.

"That is absolutely, one hundred percent, correct~! And I was going to keep Mister Tailor's sewing machine off him for a really long time too! I was hoping it would incentivise murder, but it had already happened before I confiscated the thing!" Monoko cackled.

"So then, that only leaves..." I looked at Yuudai, who's face had lost all colour.

"It...wasn't me." He whispered.

"Everyone else has an alibi." Aimi said.

"W-wait, I didn't even go into my talent room." Yuudai said.

"Then why were you down there?" Fuyutake asked. She looked...nervous. I could see her tugging on the end of her skirt - she wasn't meeting anyone's eyes.

"I-I...I didn't have a reason." Yuudai grimaced, "I know that sounds stupid, but I was just there because I was wandering around."

"That does not help your case." Tamotsu stated.

"I might say that we have our killer." Alastor added.

"Voting time?" Monoko leaned forward in its throne, practically shaking with excitement.

"Unless anybody wants to step forward with counter-evidence." Sora made direct eye contact with everyone.

"I knew we couldn't fuckin' trust him. He's an actor. It's always the actors." Michi snarled.

"Then...it's voting time?" Fuyutake's voice wobbled. Why was she acting so weird?

"I think it might be." Aimi said.

"Sorry, Yuudai. But killers get their penance eventually." Alastor said.

"Ufufufu, then let's get to voting!" Monoko shouted, "I will-"

"Stop!" Kaida and Fuyutake shouted at the same time.

"Kaida did it!" Fuyutake said.

"I did it." Kaida stated.

"I lied to you. And I made Fuyutake lie as well." Kaida explained after a moment.

"I caught her during the act, so she made me promise to keep quiet." Fuyutake said.

"Kaida...is that true?" Sora asked.

"I-no, I-" Kaida's eyes welled as she realised what she had just done, "I didn't know what to do."

"What...do you mean?" Kyung asked, voice full of emotion.

"W-well..." Kaida looked to the floor and kicked her podium in nervousness. "I got scared. Last night, I was fixing a broken clothing rack in the dress circle. Yuudai had asked me earlier to help him fix it. He said he'd leave it in the dress circle since nobody really knew about it, and he didn't want anyone getting bad ideas. I hadn't noticed he was up there; I think he followed me to talk, but Eiji scared me as a joke while I was pulling apart the rack, and I lashed out instead and hit him on the head with it. He fell.

"Fuyutake caught me leaving the talent room, and asked what I was doing in there. I couldn't help it...I told her everything. She said she wouldn't tell anyone...we were going to go back and hide it so we didn't have to do a trial, but then the nighttime announcement played." Kaida explained.

A tense silence filled the room as we waited for her to continue. Finally, she spoke again.

"Yuudai was on the opposite side of the centre square when we went back, so we ran from him." And with that, Kaida's shoulders lifted slightly, and she took a deep breath, finally looking up at us all. A strange peace was in her tearful eyes, and I could see the hint of a smile on her lips. At first, I was disgusted, and I noticed others seeing the expression and stepping back.

But then Kaida's face fell and tears rolled freely down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry." She said, "I'm so, so sorry."

Silence overwhelmed the room.

That was, until...

"Looks like it's voting time! If you look down, everybody, you will see that your E-pads have a new tab! Go on, press it. Is everyone there? Great! As you can see, there are portraits of all your fellow classmates on the page. Tap the one you think is guilty and your vote will be locked in!" Monoko shouted, making me jump. Too loud.

It was too loud.

I pressed the tab and looked down, seeing exactly what had been described.

With shaking hands, I pressed on Kaida's image. A button came up; confirm?

I didn't want to do this.

I would do anything to not have to do this.

But I had to live.

I pressed the button, and a few seconds later a big screen came down from the ceiling.

Suddenly, a list of all the students, not unlike the one I had just voted on, came up on screen, and a lit-up square began rolling over the faces, a stupidly generic drumroll playing over the top.

Finally, it slowed, and stopped on Kaida's image.

A sob came from next to me.

CORRECT!

Flashed across the screen.

Confetti rained down.

And Kaida Satsuki's fate was sealed.

"I don't want to die." The blackened cried, looking around at everyone, "please don't let me die!"

Nobody made a move to help.

Kaida Satsuki collapsed at her podium, dropping her head into her arms.

"You were right! What a great first trial!" Monoko shouted, "and now...It's time for the execution!" The cat pulled a hammer out of thin air and slammed it down on a big red button in front of it, and the big screen showed an image of Kaida's digital avatar being dragged off by the neck by a very angry-looking Monoko.

At that exact moment, there was a snap, the sound of chains clinking, and a scream.

I looked over just in time to see Kaida yanked backwards by a clamp around her neck, trying to hold onto the podium but slipping, and, horrified, we watched as she was dragged down a pitch black hallway, her screams echoing around the walls.

Monoko appeared in front of the doorway, holding a large pink flag with an image of its face and blowing a whistle, before marching off into the darkness.

We followed.

Monoko's flag gave off a faint glow as we walked, enough to follow where it was going but not see what was around us, and when it stopped, we did too. I heard a rustling of material as people moved around a bit, and a hand, I don't know who's, gripped my arm tightly.

Nobody knew what to expect.

And when the room lit up, I gasped.

Kaida stood in a workshop, woodworking machines twice the size of her all around. She looked towards the audience but didn't seem to see us, instead reaching up and pulling her safety goggles down.

A screen above us flickered on, and displayed a title.

Safety in the Workshop!

Kaida Satsuki looks to her right, where an obstacle course of different machines awaits. She hesitates for a moment, but then nods to herself.

Her eyes are fearful.

The first obstacle is a circular saw, which comes down at random intervals. Kaida ducks underneath it with ease, twisting out of the way as it comes down again, but she has plenty of room and is safe.

She turns to the next obstacle, a disc sander, switched on and moving fast. Kaida inches onto the thin platform and begins to cross it, the spinning threatening to catch her coat and send her into its spiral. She passes that and breathes a sigh of relief, taking a moment to compose herself before the next trial.

She runs along a plank of wood while a drill drills holes all around her. She leaps and dodges around the holes, skittering backwards when she gets too close and running as fast as possible when she's far away.

She's almost at the end, but as she goes to leap over another hole her foot gets stuck and she trips, falling.

Immediately she rolls over, struggling to move, her foot stuck in the hole, but she can't, and as she watches the drill moves to her position, and begins its descent. In a panic, Kaida yanks her boot off of her foot and rolls out of the way just as the drill hits the wood, catching a piece of her jacket. Kaida rips her jacket off before she gets caught and runs to the end, jumping onto a platform.

Silence fills the room.

Kaida looks around, breathing heavily, but sees nothing.

Tears form in her eyes and she takes her goggles off, legs shaking, relief flooding her face.

She's done it.

She's beaten Monoko's punishment.

And then the floor underneath her begins to move. Kaida's eyes widen as she sees, lit up behind her, an industrial planer, and a giant Monoko is spinning the wheel to make it smaller, smaller.

Kaida immediately begins running the other way, and for a moment she's beating the movement, she's almost at the safe area, but then she trips, falls, and in a half-second she's pulled into the planer.

The sound of something grinding is heard, and from the other side a coffin appears, bearing Kaida's name on the front.

The coffin, horribly put-together, breaks apart.

Kaida Satsuki is dead.

The lights shut off, and silence filled the room, along with the sound of mechanical things slowly shutting down, stopping their whirring.

After a short amount of time, Monoko's flag appeared in my peripheral, and the cat blew its whistle, piercing my ears like a needle.

Slowly, we made our way back to the trial room, and then the elevator, nobody saying a word. As soon as we reached the top floor, everyone stepped out, but instead of splitting apart, we all stuck together.

Nobody spoke for a long time.

"You were...in on it, Fuyutake?" Seiichi asked.

The Graffiti Artist nodded, seemingly too shocked to do anything else.

"She said it was an accident." She mumbled.

"And...and Yuudai?" Seiichi asked.

"To be honest, I completely forgot. I don't usually keep tabs on the backstage area, and I asked her to fix it a couple of days ago. I just...I got distracted." The Theatre Manager explained, "I was completely out of it last night because of the hunger."

"Like I said...we were going to hide it so nobody had to...so Kaida didn't have to..." Fuyutake was aghast.

"Shit excuse." Sora Yukiko span on her heel and walked away, footsteps heavy.

"You'd sacrifice us all for a single person, Ganko?" Alastor Yashin crossed his arms and shook his head, following Sora to the dorm rooms.

"She said it was an accident." Fuyutake repeated, whispering. Nobody seemed to care.

Slowly but surely, people began to leave, until it was just me, Yuudai and Fuyutake.

"I could have died." Yuudai whispered, "I could have died, and you would have as well, Fuyutake." He turned and left, shoulders hunched, movements stiff.

The Graffiti Artist turned to me.

"You don't...hate me, do you?" She asked.

"I-I don't know how I feel." I replied, "but your fake testimony could have cost everyone's lives."

And it was true. I had just seen one of my friends get executed right in front of my eyes. We were already down two, and it had only been a few days.

Sure, it had been an accident. But...what would happen next? Who would kill?

When I looked up again, Fuyutake was gone.


	4. Act 2 - In Deep

Ding Dong Bing Bong!

"Attention all students! It is currently 8am, which means you have to get up! I've given you some sleep-in time so when I ask you to get to the gym in the next five minutes, you better be on time!" Monoko's voice came over the speakers, but it felt like the volume had been turned to maximum.

Though we had been given an extra hour, I had spent it tossing and turning in bed, thinking about the previous day's events.

Well, I had spent the whole night doing the same thing. It seemed like Monoko just wanted to prolong the turmoil we were all feeling under the guise of 'sleep-in time'.

Speaking of...did it say five minutes?!

How long had I spent spouting this inner monologue?!

Who was this monologue even for?!

Hurriedly, I stumbled out of bed and got changed, slamming the door open to my room and bolting to the hall.

I shouldered open the door, took a few steps in and realised much too late that I had forgotten to tie my laces, promptly tripping over them and falling flat on my face, the door swinging closed behind me.

There was silence in the room.

Without looking up, I rolled into a sitting position and tied my laces.

The silence in the room continued.

Everyone must have been just as affected from yesterday as me.

But still, I felt my face burning up at the idea that people were staring, and continued to look down as I stood, trying to cool myself down.

It was fine. I just tripped and fell. Everyone does that. If I act like nothing happened, then nobody'll notice.

I looked up.

To a deserted room.

Just then, the door behind me squeaked open and multiple pairs of footsteps came through.

"Asahi? How did you get here so fast?" Rouko Soba asked.

"U-uhm, the morning announcement said to get here in five minutes." I scratched my head.

"It's only been four." Rouko gave me an odd smile.

Wait.

How fast did I get ready?

I didn't have time to think about that, though, because suddenly Monoko appeared on the podium, confetti raining down behind it.

"Well you all look positively scarred!" It shouted, "but fear no more, your cuddly, compassionate mascot Monoko is here to help!"

"Shut up." Sora said, but her words had less of their usual menace behind them.

"I give you sleep-in time and this is how you repay me? Ah, I'm just on the wrong side of every door, aren't I?" Monoko pressed its paw to its chest, shaking its head.

"No shit you're on the wrong side. You made one of us kill!" Michi shouted.

"I didn't do anything~! If you remember, Miss Satsuki said it was an accident." The cat replied, bored.

"Even if she didn't, someone probably would have tried eventually." Alastor said.

"E-eh?" Kioko asked.

"Simple logic. The hunger and lack of energy would have dulled our emotional states. I wouldn't call it strange to assume we all would go...a little bit crazy...at some point." Alastor replied.

A shiver ran down my spine.

"Aaanyway~, I have a special gift to give you all! Call it a congratulations for finishing the first trial!" Monoko looked around at us all and cleared its throat, "from this moment forward, the bars covering the stairs have been removed, and you now have access to a new floor! I have also left a gift for you in your dorm rooms~!"

"We don't want your gifts." Sora said.

"Ouch! So blunt!" Monoko pressed a paw to its chest.

"Curiosity killed the cat." Sora replied, before her eyes widened.

"Oiya! I see the magic of your cuddly, compassionate mascot, Monoko, is working!" The cat threw its arms in the air happily.

"No it isn't!" Sora snapped.

"Aah! I'm feeling threatened!" Monoko disappeared.

"Well, shall we explore the next floor?" Tamotsu Ryuunosuke asked, his voice gaining everyone's attention.

"I...don't really feel like doing anything." Kioko replied. She looked wrecked, like she hadn't slept at all.

"I think it would be for the best if we all came along. There could be food downstairs."

Tamotsu went over to the shorter girl and put a hand on her shoulder. Kioko looked up at him, sighed deeply, and nodded.

"I guess I am hungry." She murmured.

"Excellent. Are there any other objections?" Tamotsu stood again, looking around, but nobody seemed to be able to come up with anything.

Pleased with the outcome, Tamotsu told us to form groups and, slowly, everyone began to pile out of the room, leaving just me and Fuyutake, who stood in the corner, avoiding eye contact.

An inner battle raged within myself as I contemplated whether I should bring her with me or leave her behind.

As much as I wanted to ignore her, make her guilty for what she'd done...distrust was the thing which would split us up.

We had to stay unified if we all wanted to escape.

"Hey, Fuyutake..." She looked up at me.

"What?" She whispered.

"Do you...uhm, want to group up?" I asked, running a hand through my hair.

"Why?" The Graffiti Artist frowned.

"Eh?" I asked.

"Why? I shouldn't be trusted. I helped a murderer." She replied, grimacing.

"W-well, I thought that if we...uhm...if you...uh...trusting each other will stop another murder." I finally spat out.

"That's a whole lotta confidence you got there, Asahi." Fuyutake let out a choked laugh, "but I'd rather be alone."

And with that, she left the room, the door slamming heavily behind her.

"You can't f-force someone to feel hope." A voice murmured behind me. I turned, and Hisoka Yuuto was in the corner of the room, his hands in his pockets.

"Have you been here the whole time?" I asked. He nodded and flicked a stray piece of hair off his face.

"I-I've been listen-listening to everybody." He said.

"What? Why?" I asked.

Hisoka shrugged.

Feeling a little creeped out, I made my way towards the door and pushed it open.

"Hey," Hisoka called out. I looked over at him.

"Am I the-the only t-talentless one?" He asked, voice quieter.

I frowned, "Does it matter?" Hisoka looked at me, then the floor, and shook his head.

"W-whatever." He mumbled.

Seeing that the conversation was finished, I left the room. As I walked to the staircase, I suddenly noticed something. The glass cases outside the hall had new objects in them.

In the right case; Eiji's pilot hat, resting on the far side of the bottom shelf like he was still here, about to pick it up.

And in the left; Kaida's apron, folded neatly with her safety glasses sitting on top.

For some reason, I felt a strange comfort seeing it.

At least they wouldn't be forgotten.

~•~

The stairs were the same stark white as the floors, and when I reached the bottom I found myself somewhat lost.

The third floor looked exactly the same as the fourth; white floors, white walls, big glass square in the centre. Not sure where to go first, I simply stood there for a while, turning this way and that.

Finally, I decided to go to the right. There was nothing much in the main square, but towards the centre of the opposite wall there was a hallway that went down a short way before splitting at the end. To the right; five doors. To the left; four.

I decided to go left first.

The first door I opened led into a classroom almost exactly the same as the ones from upstairs. Stepping in, I noticed that everything seemed to have a thin layer of dust over it, like it hadn't been used in a long time. I looked around quickly but couldn't find anything of interest, so I moved to the second door.

Unlike the first, this one had a window, though it was covered by blinds at the moment. I pushed on the door handle and, surprisingly, the door swung open, and I heard a little jingle. The room was dark, but as soon as I stepped inside the lights switched on and music began playing from an unknown speaker, shocking me.

"Weeeeelcome to the Monoshop~! So glad to have you here! What are you looking for? Toys? Knick-knacks to decorate your room? Books?" A voice suddenly shouted. It sounded like Monoko, but pitched a little bit higher.

"W-what?" I looked around the room, and my eyes widened.

It really did look like I was in a shop of some sort. Shelves of stuff lined the walls, and a decently sized table sat in the centre of the room, stacked high with plushies of Monoko. At the back of the room was a small desk, atop which sat an old-fashioned register, and behind which stood...Monoko...in a golden-haired wig which curled at the ends and a black button-up shirt, red tie around the collar.

"Where am I...?" I blinked a few times, astounded. What was happening?

"Didn't you hear me? You're in the Monoshop! The place to be for all of your items that don't come with a normal schooling life. We've got teddies, toys, toilet seats, everything you would ever need!" 'Monoko' leaned forward on the desk and brought a paw to its mouth, "hey, if you keep this on the down-low, I can also tell you about our secret menu." It whispered.

"Secret menu?!" I was incredulous.

"Oiya, shut up, will you? The menu's secret for a reason!" 'Monoko' picked up a plush version of itself from the desk and threw it at me.

Hurriedly, I dodged it, and heard it hit the opposite wall. From behind me, a mechanical voice; 'I'm Monoko, your cuddly, compassionate mascot! Hug me!'

"Who are you?" I asked the fake Monoko.

"Me? I'm Monoya, the store owner~! Now do you want to hear about this secret menu or no?" Monoya replied.

"U-uhm, sure?" I ran a hand through my hair.

"Oiya, finally!" Monoya disappeared behind the desk again, and pulled out a large laminated piece of paper a second later, slamming it down on the desk, "so, we have a lot of things on the secret menu, but the most interesting have to be...the limited edition Monoko trading card pack, the limited Despair edition Monoko plushie, the limited Hope edition Monoko keychain, and the picante beef ramen." Monoya pointed to each piece of the menu.

"Why the ramen?" I asked.

"Do you know how difficult it is to get picante beef ramen? It's popular enough on the outside, but in this place, you have to pay good moola for that kind of flavour. You can't get that kind of glory from the kitchen ramen." Monoya whispered.

"B-but, why picante beef? Aren't there better flavours? Like...chicken katsu? Or tofu?" I asked.

"Those flavours? They're for normies. Allow me to teach you about how popular picante beef really is. It all started when-" Monoya began to drone on about the history of ramen, even bringing out charts and tables to emphasise certain points. While I was vaguely impressed with the work, I didn't particularly want to stick around. As soon as Monoya was distracted I made a hasty exit, shutting the door behind me and breathing a sigh of relief.

I'd had enough of one Monoko, but now there were two? I ran my hands through my hair, annoyed.

I couldn't deal with this right now.

I looked to the opposite side of the hallway. There were four doors along the wall, but save for one labeled 'Toilets' they all looked to be classrooms. I checked inside each one just to be sure, and my suspicions were confirmed.

Why would Monoko put so many empty classrooms in this place? What were we supposed to use them for?

Sighing, I shook my head and turned to the end of the hallway, seeing a fairly large set of double doors. They took up the entire width of the wall they were on, and, like the shop door, had windows inlaid. The curtains behind them were also drawn, leaving the interior a mystery.

I pushed the door open, and, as I stepped onto soft carpet, my mouth dropped open.

It was a library.

But it wasn't your average, run-of-the-mill library.

The circular room had made use of the tall ceilings we had gotten used to with massive bookshelves that loomed over me and, in the middle of the room, a small reading area comprised of multiple desks pushed together, a few lamps scattered around.

The walls were all bookshelf, and, halfway up, were split by a walkway, almost like a second floor, with stairs leading up to it on the opposite side of the room. I wove through the bookshelves in awe, running my hands along the spines of books, admiring the rustic beauty of the room. As I reached the centre, where the desks were, I looked up and realised that the light source for the room was a giant, black and gold chandelier, with multiple smaller ones slowly moving up so that the outer circle had the shortest chain and the middle had the longest.

After spending much too long admiring the chandeliers, I decided to turn my attention to the main point of a library; the books.

It was organised like a typical library, moving in circles towards the centre, but whilst the classrooms had collections of manga and light novels, the library was mostly novels, informational books, dictionaries, thesauruses and whatever else would be expected.

"Hey!" A voice suddenly shouted from somewhere, sounding incredibly excited, "Asahi! What are you doing here?"

Surprised, I looked around, seeing nobody.

"Up here!" The voice shouted again. I looked up to see Yuudai waving at me from the upstairs walkway.

"Come up here! The view's amazing." He called.

"Aren't you supposed to have a partner?" I asked, making my way up the stairs.

"Yeah...I kinda ditched them." Yuudai shrugged.

As soon as I reached the top and looked over the railing, I saw beauty...and opportunity.

The chandeliers were even more stunning from up here, and seeing the top-down layout of the library was amazing. The bookshelves were in a circular pattern, leading to the very centre where the reading area sat, the lowest chandelier perfectly fitting in the centre circle.

The top of the bookshelves on the ground reached the exact level of the second floor, and they were all within...jumping distance.

It had been so long since I had done anything parkour related. Sure, I had that training thing in my room, but it wasn't as fun as actually going out and doing it in a place where there were no limits.

I bit my lip and looked around.

Yuudai was on the other side of the room, distracted.

I lifted a leg up and slowly climbed onto the railing, until I was squatting on top of it.

The first bookshelf was directly below me; all I would have to do was drop onto it.

I balanced myself, dropped my legs down the other side, and was about to push myself off when suddenly a loud crash from behind and an 'Oiya!' in my ear caused me to screech in terror and lose my balance, promptly falling onto the top of the bookcase and slipping dangerously close to the edge. I gripped the other side of the bookshelf, knuckles going white, as my body slipped over and I was just hanging from the edge, my arms the only thing keeping me from falling off the bookshelf.

"What do you think you're doing?! Ever heard the saying 'curiosity killed the cat'?" Monoko dropped down from the railing and right next to me, crossing its arms.

I didn't reply, focusing on shifting my lower body so I could get a leg onto the shelf and haul myself back up to safety.

"Cat got your tongue?" Monoko huffed, "nobody told me these kiddos would be so bratty!"

"I'm...not bratty..." I swung upwards, my foot finally reaching the top of the bookcase, "I'm trying...to save...myself." I hauled myself up into a sitting position on the bookcase, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Asahi!? What are you doing?" Yuudai suddenly shouted from somewhere next to me. I looked over to see him leaning dangerously far over the railing, eyes wide.

"I'm fine. Monoko scared me, is all." I waved a hand airily.

"Monoko? Where?" Yuudai raised an eyebrow.

"Eh?" I looked to where the cat had been standing, but, surprisingly, it had disappeared.

"D-didn't you hear it shouting at me?" I asked.

"All I heard was a crash, and then I saw you hanging off the bookshelf. By the time I got over here you were safe." Yuudai replied, "why were you jumping on bookshelves in the first place?"

"Parkour is my talent?" I said.

Yuudai snorted, "Not with a wipe out like that."

"Are you making fun of me?" I asked.

"No, of course not!" Yuudai peered at me from over his glasses, "I'm just...actually, yeah. I'm making fun of you." He began to walk down the stairs.

Oh, I would show him.

I shuffled to the end of the bookshelf, crouched again and prepared to jump down as soon as I saw Yuudai at the bottom of the staircase.

For a few moments, I sat there, but finally I saw him.

I immediately moved to jump, but just then I heard another 'Oiya!' and something hard pushed into my back, causing me to lose my balance.

I began to fall, but rather than panicking, my brain turned to survival mode.

The best way to fall...

In a split second I kicked against the bookshelf, launching outwards, brought my hands up, tucked my head in, and as soon as I made contact with the ground launched forwards into a roll.

Adrenaline still rushing through me, I sat on the ground for a few moments, breathing heavily, then stood up, turning around.

Monoko stood in front of me, crossing its arms, smoke coming out of its ears. Behind it, Yuudai had a mixture of surprise and fear on his face.

"Breaking the rules again, Mister Parkour Expert?" It asked.

"Rules? What rules?" I frowned.

"Do none of you kiddos check the E-Pads?" Monoko pulled one out of nowhere and switched it on, going to the rules tab.

It looked at me, then at Yuudai, "Mister Theatre Manager, get over here so you don't forget the rules as well!"

Yuudai cautiously walked over, as if afraid Monoko would lash out at him, and stood next to me.

We watched as Monoko pressed on a tab titled 'Second Floor Rules', and a digital Monoko popped up in the bottom of the screen again, turning around to where we were facing and leaping back in surprise.

'Ah, Student no. 20! I'm just so excited to see that you made it past the first trial! How was the execution? Wasn't it just the cat's meow?' The digital Monoko did a little twirl, before clapping its paws together.

"Why the sudden cat puns?" Yuudai asked.

"I'm leaning into my character! Now shut up and watch!" Monoko replied.

'Anyway, we need to get down to business. The rules for floor 2! They're really quite simple, I must say. All the rules for the first floor apply here too. However, there are some additions~!

'Rule no. 1! The Talent Rooms, Monoshop, and Onsen are completely off limits between the hours of 10pm and 7am! I'm sure you know what happens if you break the rules, but juuust in case...'

Instead of the shooting gun animation we had seen earlier, I was absolutely horrified to see that this time, the silhouetted characters were being hanged. I shivered. But the horror wasn't over yet.

'Rule no. 2! The kitchen is open at all hours, however, items which can be obviously used as weapons will be locked away at 10pm and reopened at 7am! Keep that in mind when you make a midnight snack! Nobody likes a block of cheese instead of a grilled cheese!'

"Wait, there's a kitchen?" Yuudai asked, excited.

"That means..." I drifted off.

"We can eat!" Yuudai cried, "food, glorious food!"

"Oiya, shut up! Digital me is still speaking!" Monoko shouted.

'Rule no. 3! The onsen is first in, best dressed! Only one gender is allowed in at a time, so whoever scans their E-Pad first gets the onsen until they've had enough! Entry and exit to the onsen is monitored at all times, so don't try anything sneaky! If you do...'

Another image of hanging silhouettes, this time with a laughing Monoko added.

'Rule no. 4! The library has some very strict "do not's"! Do not vandalise, tear, or otherwise damage the books! Do not shout, or speak loudly! Do not bring food or drink inside! Do not jump on, around, under, or through the furniture! That includes the bookcases, chandeliers, and handrails! If you do...'

The animation again.

"Hey, I didn't know about any of th-" I was stopped.

"Do not interrupt your principal, whether digital or real!" Monoko pointed to the screen.

'Finally, I will remind you of a couple of things! The first; floors you have unlocked! The floors you have unlocked are: Floor Four, Floor Three. Floors yet to be unlocked are: Not Applicable.

'Aaand the second; the motive! The most recent motive is: Unknown. Past motives have been: No Food.

'And with that out of the way, I shall bid you adieu! Have fun, and I hope to see you next time I'm activated! Let the Killing Game continue!'

And, once again, the digital Monoko blew itself up.

"I didn't know those rules!" I crossed my arms, "there was nothing to tell me there even were new rules!"

"Did that thing say onsen? And kitchen? We still need to explore so much!" Yuudai threw his hands into the air.

"Why did you kick me? And then disappear?! You never even told me I was doing something wrong!" I cried.

"What else is here that we don't know about? How come we aren't told about this stuff?" Yuudai glared at Monoko.

"If you wanted to keep me off those bookshelves, why didn't you just put netting or something up on the balcony?" I shook my head.

"Waah, you're both talking at once! I can't handle this many questions!" Monoko disappeared.

I opened my mouth to say something when suddenly it appeared again, glaring at us.

"Mister Parkour Expert, it's common sense to not go jumping on things!" It shouted, hit me on the leg, and vanished again.

"Ow-hey!" I shouted at the area it had been. Yuudai looked at the floor, then at me, then...burst out laughing.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"You go hit by Monoko!" He cackled.

"And it hurt!" I replied, gesturing to my leg.

"That's even better!" Yuudai gasped for breath, having reverted to now slapping his knee.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm leaving."

Yuudai either didn't hear me or didn't care, because he just kept laughing.

~•~

The last two unexplored doors in the hallway were classrooms as well, and, after what seemed to be too long, I finally made my way back to the centre square.

Sora, Rouko and Kyung were just passing me as I walked out.

"Oh, Asahi!" Kyung noticed me, "what have you...watched so far?"

Before I could answer, Rouko corrected her.

"Uhm...there's a library and a shop down there, and some classrooms. That's about it." I ran a hand through my hair.

"A shop? What d'ya mean, a shop?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh...it's weird. I don't really want to go back." I shrugged.

"Is there a shopkeeper?" Rouko asked.

"Yeah, its name is Monoya, but it's just Monoko with a wig." I waved my hand airily.

"Oiya! Monoya and I are completely seperate kitties!" Monoko suddenly popped into existence, scaring Kyung. Rouko immediately went to comfort the Exchange Student.

"Not again." Sora groaned, "can't you leave us alone for five minutes?"

"Of course not! As your principal, it's my job to make sure my kiddos are always fully educated in their schooling!" Monoko shouted.

"That would work if you actually told us stuff." Sora scoffed.

"I tell you lots! I've told you about the third floor, I told you the rules about the killing game, I taught you how to argue your point in a class trial, I've even told you about other classmates embarrassing secrets!" Monoko squished its face in what would have been a cute gesture...if it wasn't Monoko.

"Embarrassing secrets?" Rouko asked, "what embarrassing secrets?"

"Waah, I've revealed too much! Stupid Monoko, you let the cat outta the bag again..." The cat started hitting itself on the head before disappearing.

"What is it...talking about?" Kyung asked.

"Who cares?" Sora flicked her ponytail over her shoulder, "let's just keep exploring."

"Do you want to come with?" Rouko asked me.

"Uhm..." I looked at Sora, who was entirely uninterested, "sure."

"The three muskete-wait, there's four of us. What group has four members?" Rouko asked.

"The mystery gang?" Kyung asked.

"That has five members...if you count the dog." Rouko said.

Kyung gasped, "you always count the dog!"

"But it's a dog!" Rouko replied.

"It talks!" Kyung harrumphed, "therefore, it is a member."

"How about...the fanciful four?" Rouko suggested.

"That was a terrible movie." I replied.

"Oh! How about...spookbusters!" Kyung grinned.

"We aren't Amaterasu." Rouko frowned.

"Teenage mutant ninja tortoises?" Kyung asked.

"I don't like tortoises. Turtles are better." I replied.

"The witch of oz!" Rouko linked arms with Kyung, "the silver man, cowardly tiger, ragamuffin and Dorothea!"

"Who's who?" Kyung asked.

"Uhh..." Rouko looked around at us all, and frowned.

"What if...we're all Dorothea?" Kyung asked.

"That doesn't work with canon." Rouko replied.

"The four horsemen of the apocalypse." Sora suddenly spoke up.

"Eh?" I asked.

"We're the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Now shush, I've found a door." Sora pointed a little ways down the hall.

Surprisingly, everyone quieted as we walked to the door, which seemed to be covered in a thin layer of frost. The plaque on the front read

Sora Yukiko

Ultimate Snowboarder

"Mine...?" Without hesitation, Sora twisted the door handle and we all followed her in.

We entered a tiny, cabin-like building, a cupboard to one side of us and a bench on the other, and another door straight in front of us. As the chill settled, I shivered. My clothes were not meant for this weather.

Sora had disappeared somewhere, but I could hear noises from inside the cupboard. Frowning, I went towards it, about to open the door, when suddenly it burst open, barely missing my face, and Sora practically leaped out, carrying a snowboard under her arm. She looked to all of us, beaming, and held the snowboard out in front of her.

"Kahou!" She shouted.

"Kahou?" I asked.

"Kahou!" Sora confirmed. She put the snowboard on the ground and leant on it, "that's her name." She said.

"You named your snowboard?" Rouko asked.

"Obviously. It's good luck to name your snowboard." Sora grinned.

"How...does that work?" Kyung asked.

"Well, I've had Kahou since I started snowboarding in the Olympics, and originally she didn't have a name. But over time she kinda became my lucky snowboard, so I named her!" Sora explained

"What does...Kahou...mean?" Kyung asked. Rouko quickly translated.

"Good fortune?" Kyung smiled, "what a nice name."

"She's always brought me luck." Sora patted the snowboard, "She was a present from my parents when I first went viral."

"Woah, cool." Rouko said.

"Should we look at the rest of the talent room?" I asked.

"Oh, that's right! Maybe there'll be a place I can snowboard!" Sora reached for the only door we hadn't opened yet.

"I'm not sure that...it would be possible to...create a place to snowboard indoors." Kyung frowned.

Sora stepped through the door and a moment later I heard a gasp of shock and joy come from the other side. Curious, I walked in, and found myself awed.

The room was a giant snowfield, complete with what looked to be ramps and some kind of ski lift which wasn't moving.

I couldn't believe something like this could even fit inside a building, let alone a building three stories up.

"Ah, I believe the saying is...I need to eat my words?" Kyung asked.

"There's no way this is real." Sora gasped, bolting into the piles of snow. Now knee-deep, she picked up some of the snow and crumbled it in her hands, eyes sparkling with wonder.

"It sure is re-ouf!" Monoko appeared and immediately fell into a huge pile of snow, disappearing from view.

"Oiya, I forgot how deep this snow was! I'm blaming it on you kiddos!" It shouted from inside the pile.

Ignoring it, I walked up to the snow and picked up some, feeling it freezing my fingers.

It was real, all right.

"I have to try this out." Sora looked around, and zeroed in on the tallest 'mountain' of snow, in a far corner where the ski lift was, "Monoko, how do I turn on the surface lift?"

"Oiya, help me out of this snow and I'll tell you!" Monoko's muffled voice called.

"Wait, is it stuck in there?" Rouko asked, "because if it is, and we bury it..."

"Ah, good idea!" Kyung replied.

"Burying your principal? I'll have you know I can just as easily get out of this myself!" Monoko shouted.

"Then how come you need our help?" Rouko asked.

"Well, I thought that maybe my lovely students would want to help their principal out of a dangerous situation..." Monoko suddenly appeared in front of us, fuming, "but apparently you're all just rebelling teenagers who wouldn't help anyone!"

"Obviously we wouldn't want to help something like you!" Sora retorted.

"Oiya! How rude! I'm not telling you where to activate the lift now!" Monoko disappeared.

"What?!" Sora shouted, "you ain't even gonna tell me how to use my own talent room?"

"Rude kiddos get nothing!" Monoko shouted over the speakers.

Sora shouted an abundance of swear words in response, some which could never be repeated, and stormed into the cabin. I began to get worried when I started hearing banging and smashing coming from inside, but so did Rouko and Kyung.

"Sora, the rules-!" Kyung bolted into the cabin without a second thought, Rouko following after. I heard a faint 'fuck the rules!' from inside and promptly decided I didn't really want to get involved in that mess.

But now that they were blocking the exit, I couldn't leave. Sighing, I decided to look around the room a bit more. After all, standing around was only going to make me colder.

The patch of ground I was standing on was the only snowless place in the room, a small semi-circle of an unknown flooring which led into the rest of the room. Behind me was the door to the cabin area, and next to that, what looked to be a control panel. Curious, I walked over and tapped on the screen, which lit up almost immediately.

Good morning, Student no. 58

Showed up atop a loading screen on a blue background, white snowflakes raining down from the top of the screen to the bottom. I couldn't help but wonder what those numbers were. How come we had them? If there were 58 of us, where were the rest?

The screen loaded fairly quickly, showing a control panel not unlike the one in my room.

However, this one had much more options than mine, all under specific headings. On the far right, the heading Snow was listed, with three options; Light, Medium, or Heavy. Next to that was the heading Texture, again with three options; Soft, Fresh, or Hard. The final heading was Surface Lift, the options; Slow, Fast, and Off.

Curious, I pressed the heavy option on the snow tab, and suddenly the whirring of machinery started up from behind me. I spun around, but nothing seemed to be happening.

However, the three girls in the cabin had heard it start, and all three came rushing out.

"What did you do? Fanboy, did you touch something? I swear, if you've broken my talent room..." Sora clenched her fists, glaring at me with an intensity I had only seen in the class trial the day prior. I felt shivers run down my spine.

"I-I found a control panel." I pointed to the screen next to me.

"Did Monoko tell you?" Rouko asked.

"No, I was just looking around..." I drifted off, running a hand through my hair.

"Shove it, Fanboy." Sora pushed me out of the way and bent down to look at the screen.

Frowning, she pressed a button, and suddenly the surface lift on the opposite side of the room jolted into action.

"How interesting." Kyung tilted her head, "this...machinery is very smart."

"It's working!" Sora shouted, "suck it, Monoko!" And with that, the Snowboarder went bolting off towards the lift, leaving us behind.

A few seconds later, the loud whirring of machinery quieted and snow began to fall from the ceiling.

Kyung gasped in delight, "magic!"

"So the control panel controls the amount of snow." I murmured, looking around.

Kyung was right, it was pretty magical. Snowing inside...who knew?

After a while of watching Sora snowboard and running around in the snow with Rouko and Kyung, I decided to leave.

As soon as I opened the door to the hallway a blast of hot air hit me and I realised how cold I had actually been. My hands had turned blue, and I couldn't feel my face.

Maybe next time I should rug up.

I rubbed my face until I felt it warm up and continued walking, finding myself at another hallway which disappeared around a corner. There were only four doors here, and I quickly made my way to the first one.

Michi Katsu

Ultimate Speed Skater

Another talent room.

Slightly worried about the person attached to the name, I opened the door and stepped into what looked to be an old fashioned roller rink, complete with a small entryway and loud pop music blasting from unseen speakers. I could also hear the sound of someone skating, and as I walked in I saw the culprit of the sound.

Michi Katsu, in perfect form, skated around the rink, a flash of neon green and blue, utterly focused on his task.

The rink was surrounded by a low wall, with openings on either side to get onto it, and matched the floor, a questionably-coloured blue carpet. On the far wall a neon sign lit up at intervals; Monoko's Ultimate Rollerama. To the right side of the room was a bathroom, and, next to that, a desk with a shoe size chart on the floor in front of it and shelves upon shelves of skates behind it. Seating was placed randomly around the place; benches along the walls and, next to a small snack bar on the left side of the room, tables and chairs. The room was lit up by what looked to be skylight at first glance, but was actually panels of bright LED's, covering the entire ceiling. It reminded me of my childhood a little bit, when, for a short period of time, I had fallen in love with rollerblading and done it every weekend.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, I heard the screech of something stopping incredibly fast, and a voice called out to me.

"The fuck are you doing in here?" Michi Katsu called from the opposite side of the roller rink.

"U-uhm, exploring?" I replied, "I'll leave now." I really didn't want to put up with more Michi than I had to.

"Don't you dare leave!" He shouted.

"E-eh?" I asked.

"You aren't allowed to leave until you witness the power of Michi Fuckin' Katsu, the Ultimate Speed Skater! Now sit your ass somewhere and watch my skills!" He harrumphed.

"Uh, I still have places to explore-"

"Do I look like I care?" He asked.

"I really have to go..." I backed up, towards the door.

"If you leave I'm never gonna fuckin' talk to you again! You'll miss out on Michi Katsu's amazing voice!" He crossed his arms.

"Gotta go." Was my only response. I opened the door, ran outside and slammed it behind me, breathing a sigh of relief.

When I looked up again, I noticed the two doors on the opposite side of the room. They were next to each other, and each had what looked to be another control panel on one side. They each had an image on the front of them, one a woman and the other a man.

Frowning, I walked over to the door with the image of the man and tapped on the control panel. It lit up; Scan Your E-Pad.

I did what it wanted and after loading for a moment, I heard a buzz and the sound of unlocking. The panel now read Welcome, Student no. 12.

I stepped into what looked to be a small change room of sorts, with lockers to one side and a bathing station on the other. Immediately, I knew where I was.

The onsen was decorated with wooden planks for the walls and tiles for the floor, offering a cosy atmosphere. Steam from the actual baths rolled in through a door just past the bathing stations, which was covered a third of the way by a blue noren with the character ゆ printed on it. The area I was standing in was a step down from the rest of the room, a genkan with a cupboard to the side of it. I opened the cupboard to see that it was actually a shoe rack, and there were a couple of pairs already in there. From what I could see, it looked like...Seiichi and Alastor's. I took off my own shoes and stepped fully into the room.

There were eight bathing stations and eight lockers, enough for everyone.

But we were missing one.

Was this Monoko's way of mocking us?

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the invasive thoughts. I didn't want to think about yesterday.

Luckily for me, someone came to interrupt my thoughts before I could think too hard.

"Asahi! Whatcha doing just standing in a corner?" Seiichi's voice asked. I turned around to see the Tailor standing, butt naked, towel in one hand, staring at me.

"U-uhm...exploring..." I drifted off, confused.

"Are you done?" Seiichi asked.

"What?"

"Have you finished exploring? If you have, you should come and relax with Alastor and I." Seiichi said, "the baths are really cool!"

"Uhm...not yet, actually." I ran a hand through my hair.

"Oh, well, when you're done come and check out the baths fully!" Seiichi waved goodbye and disappeared back into the door, leaving me confused and a little awkward.

So comfortable in front of relative strangers...especially with what had happened yesterday...I shook my head.

From what he said, though, the onsen sounded pretty cool. I vowed to check it out fully when I was finished exploring everything else.

There was a door directly across from me when I left, another talent room by the looks of it. My suspicions were confirmed when I looked at the plaque on the door;

Rei Amaterasu

Ultimate Exorcist

The door was made of a dark wood and the handle was intricately designed but old-looking, the once bronze metal now stained green in areas from age.

I pushed the handle down and walked in, to find myself in a very dully lit hallway with a singular door at the end. The walls were white, and the floor was a red, orange and black geometric-patterned carpet that reminded me of a horror movie I had watched once. Long shadows caused the hallway to feel incredibly dark, and there was only two lights; circular and inlaid into the ceiling. At the end of the hall was a normal-looking wooden door. As I walked, the floor squeaked underneath me, and for some reason a creeping fear began to rise in my stomach, to the point where I just wanted to bolt down the hall and through the door. But I forced myself to walk, and finally reached the door without any incidents, pushing it open and entering the room.

"Heh?" Rei suddenly appeared right in front of me.

"Gyagh!" I screeched, launching myself back into the door and sliding to the ground, heart pounding.

"Oh." Rei murmured, "apologies."

"You could have killed me." I gasped, clutching my chest.

She didn't respond.

I let myself calm down, waited for my heart to beat somewhat normally again, and stood on shaky legs, finally looking around at the room.

It had black carpeted floor and dark walls, the only light coming from some candles scattered around. In the centre of the room was a low kotatsu table with two tall candles either side. On the walls were various shido's and traditional kabuki masks. The room was fairly small and quite warm.

"This doesn't look like an exorcist's room." I scratched my head.

"It is perfect." Rei replied, "people misunderstand."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"They see exorcists...in the media...and they think we are...vicious." She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts, "but we only...want to help."

"Help who?" I prompted.

"The spirits." Rei had been looking at me all this time, but now she was looking beyond me, "they need help...to leave this world. So we do that. We show them...the path."

"That's...really interesting." I murmured.

Rei focused back on me, and I saw a hint of a sad smile, "they are scared. They hurt. It is a curse." And with that she spun around, walking further into the room and seating herself behind the table. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and began to mutter.

Though I couldn't say I believed in her talent, it seemed like she really cared for the 'spirits' she exorcised. But that didn't stop me from feeling entirely safe around her.

I decided to leave her to it and left the room, rushing down the hallway and back out into the bright lights of the rest of the building.

"It's not opening!" A voice shouted, "where's my King piece..."

"Oiya! No breaking into locked rooms!"

"Kyaaaaah!"

I turned to see Kioko Kozakura tripping over her own feet and landing on her back, the pieces from her 'piece pouch' scattering around her. Monoko stood at her feet, crossing its arms.

"Kioko!" I ran over to the Board Gamer, accidentally kicking some pieces across the floor to reach her.

"I'm fine." Kioko rubbed her head and sat up, pouting, "but now I have to put everything back in my piece pouch."

"Monoko-!" I looked over to see that the cat was already gone. When I looked back Kioko was trying to stand up. I quickly grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Wait! You might have a concussion, or injured something. I'll get the pieces, you just stay there." I said.

"Woah, when did you become such a gentleman?" Kioko asked, then began to giggle, "I feel so special."

"I'm just making sure you don't hurt yourself more." I replied.

"No matter!" Kioko sighed. I picked up all the pieces and gave them back to her. There was a mixture of chess, checkers and Monopoly pieces, as well as some Monopoly money and Fravashi.

"What's this room, anyway?" I asked, standing again.

Eiji Hikou

Ultimate Airplane Pilot

"Oh," I whispered.

Suddenly, in a single breath, the whole of yesterday flashed back to me, and I felt completely drained of energy.

What were we doing? Nobody even bothered to try spending at least a day mourning them. Even me. Shit, I had spent my afternoon with them on the last day and just took it for granted.

I took a step backwards, then two, then turned around and ran down the hall, ignoring Kioko's shouts. I burst through a door, not knowing where I was going, and found the nearest wall, almost falling into a sitting position and bringing my legs up, hiding my face. I felt tears well, and though I wanted them to go away, they didn't. They dropped freely as my true emotions finally flooded through me.

But my pity was short-lived.

"Ah, Seiko! What's happened?" Aimi Minori's voice called out, and I heard the clack of heels against the floor as she ran over.

"It's nothing." I said, "I just need some alone time."

"It certainly doesn't look like nothing!" Aimi replied.

I didn't say anything to that. For a moment, Aimi was silent too.

"Hey, you can't fall so easily into despair. It's what Monoko wants." She finally said.

"When two people are dead, what does it expect us to do?" I replied, finally lifting my head. The Harajuku Fashionista tilted her head, a soft smile on her face.

"We have to keep them in our memories. Isn't continuing to live to the fullest the best way to remember somebody?" She asked.

"I-I guess so..." I ran a hand through my hair.

"Wonderful!" Aimi clapped her hands together, "Aimi Minori's famous life advice continues to work!" And with that, she walked away.

'Famous'?

I couldn't handle anyone here.

But, I couldn't just sit in a corner for the rest of the day.

I shook my head and stood up, wiping my eyes, and looked around.

I was in a storage room of some sort.

It was huge, rows upon rows of shelving stacked high with random stuff. I looked at one shelf, and found a variety of things, from walkie talkies to, for some reason, an abundance of microwaves. There were also ropes, hooks, tape, and some other...more disturbing...stuff. The amount of things that could be used to murder in here was kind of worrying.

I felt a shiver run down my spine.

Suddenly I felt very uncomfortable in here.

Hurriedly, I left.

I thought back on everywhere I'd explored so far...there was one door I didn't remember going into, so I decided to head over there.

I made my way back to the centre square and to the only hallway I hadn't been down yet.

Like the top floor, this wall had a set of double doors, but, as I pushed the door open, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the scent of freshly cooked...something.

The room was a cafeteria of sorts, and I could see a few people inside already.

Seiichi, Sora, Rouko and Kyung were chatting happily while sitting atop one of the tables, and on the other side of the room Alastor sat with Kioko, reading a book while she tried to make him talk.

In the corner I made brief eye contact with Fuyutake, who was sitting alone, and quickly looked away.

The cafeteria tables were all long, reaching almost the full width of the room, and had simple wooden chairs pushed in. The walls were white, and the floors were tiled. In a corner, I noticed a pair of swinging doors, from which a large amount of noise was currently coming from. Curious, I made my way over and entered to see a ridiculous sight.

"I can cook! If you just give me the chance!" Yuudai shouted.

Sans vest and with his shirt sleeves rolled up, the Theatre Manager had a stick of butter attached to his forehead, and his hands and arms were covered in flour.

"What is the butter for, then?" Tamotsu asked.

"Storage! If I keep it here, I won't forget it!" Yuudai made the statement as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, but Tamotsu didn't look too impressed.

"It is near dinner time, anyway. You can make pancakes for breakfast tomorrow." He said.

"But daaaad!" Yuudai whined.

"Please refrain from calling me 'dad'." Tamotsu said.

"Papa?"

"No thank you."

"Padre?"

"No."

"Daddy~?"

"Please do not call me anything related to parental figures. I am a student, just like you." Tamotsu sighed, pulled the stick of butter off Yuudai's forehead and ushered the boy to the sink.

"Uhm, sorry for interrupting," I frowned, "What...uh...is going on?"

"Mr. Kenen took it upon himself to try and make pancakes for everybody. His methods of cooking are...less than conventional." Tamotsu sighed.

"They're what my Mum and Dad taught me!" Yuudai whined, washing his hands. Tamotsu's eyebrows creased and he looked at the boy.

"I am concerned about that." He stated simply.

"Hey, I survived this long!" Yuudai dried his arms and rolled his sleeves down, "if you don't want my help, I won't offer it. But you've lost your rights to a part in my play." He stormed out of the kitchen.

Tamotsu looked at me, "Did I do something wrong?"

"N-no, I think he was just kidding." I replied. The Cello Player nodded, pleased with my answer.

The day was fairly uneventful, but when dinner rolled around I suddenly realised how hungry I was.

Kioko found me and pulled me to the cafeteria, where I was surprised to find that there really wasn't much food on offer, and Tamotsu, who had made the food, was doling out small servings to everyone.

"What's up with this shit?" Michi finally brought the question up when everyone was sat down, "I'm fuckin' starving!"

"Three days of eating nothing followed by gorging yourself on a feast is a sure way to become extremely sick." Tamotsu explained.

"I don't fuckin' care if I get sick or not, I want food! I've been trainin' all day and eaten nothing!" He shouted.

"Leave him alone." Rei murmured.

"The fuck did you say, ghost girl?" Michi asked.

"He's trying to help." Rei replied.

"He ain't helpin' me! I need to carb-load!" The Speed Skater snatched his plate off the table and stood, "I'm going to make myself something to eat." Flipping us off, he disappeared into the kitchen.

"He is...very rude." Kyung frowned.

"Someone oughta whack him." Sora rolled her eyes.

"Didn't you do that a couple of days ago?" Aimi asked.

"Someone oughta whack him again." Sora corrected herself.

"That's not going to help. He's got a serious case of narcissism, nothing's gonna make him change." Seiichi picked at his fingernails, sighing.

"Either way, he will most likely feel sick tomorrow morning," Tamotsu said, "I apologise, everyone, but it is going to take more than a few days for you to return to normal eating habits."

"Thanks for helping us stay healthy, dad." Yuudai grinned mischievously.

Tamotsu simply sighed and began collecting plates.

As he went to grab mine I stood, "I'll help you."

"No need. There is a dishwasher in the kitchen." Tamotsu smiled.

"Then I'll clean up the leftovers." I replied.

"I have done that already." Tamotsu said.

"Woah, what a gentleman! He thought of everything!" Kioko gasped.

"Can I help you with anything?" I asked. Tamotsu paused briefly, thinking.

"I suppose breakfast tomorrow. I must admit, it was quite difficult to cook for fourteen." He said.

"What if we set up a roster? Certain people cook on certain days." Alastor suggested.

"Perhaps that would be good, as long as the people rostered have some sort of knowledge on basic dishes." Tamotsu replied.

"I feel like that was aimed at me." Yuudai raised an eyebrow.

"To be fair, you did have a stick of butter on your forehead." I ran a hand through my hair.

"He what?" Fuyutake suddenly spoke up from the end of the table, practically spitting out the water she had been drinking.

Everyone's heads turned to the Graffiti Artist, who immediately shut up. The mood dropped.

"You're here." Sora stated. There was no malice, but she didn't sound happy about it.

"Why is she here?" Rouko asked.

"I wanted everyone to be present. You will also notice that Hisoka Yuuto is here as well." Tamotsu pointed behind Fuyutake, where I saw the boy in question immediately freeze up.

"The two untrustworthy ones." Alastor leaned back on his chair, "this is a turn of events."

"If nobody wants me here, I'll leave." Fuyutake stood so abruptly the chair squealed across the floor and almost fell.

"No...wait." Kyung stood as well, "please do not leave."

"You're on her side?" Seiichi asked, dejected.

"She is...a victim of knowledge." Rei whispered.

"Rei too?" Seiichi asked.

"It's expected." A voice suddenly called. Michi walked up to the end of the table, "Exchangey and ghost girl trust the one who helped kill a friend. Luckily for everyone here, I'm on your side." He scoffed.

"Don't call her exchangey." Rouko stood up now.

"We need...trust." Rei said.

"Trust doesn't help when your friend almost killed us all." Seiichi accused.

"She just told me about it. I had no part." Fuyutake put her hands up in surrender.

"You agreed to keep the secret." Seiichi replied. Without waiting for an answer, he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Fuyutake didn't try to fight back. She looked around at us all, sighed, and grabbed her plate, walking into the kitchen.

"Tensions are running high. Unless we calm them, something's bound to happen." Alastor said, "I'd hate to see what."

Silence reigned through the room for a moment as everyone digested his words.

And then, everyone began to leave.

It started with Hisoka, who almost ran out the door, the hood on his jumper up and his shoulders squared. Following him were Michi, Yuudai, and Aimi. Rouko and Kyung were next, and after that everyone seemed to form a group and left together, until it was only me.

A moment later, I heard the kitchen door swing open, rushed footsteps moving through the room and then the cafeteria door slamming heavily.

What a mess.

Ding Dong Bing Bong!

"Attention kiddos! It is now 7am, which means you hafta get your butts out of bed! I've got a surprise for you in the Hall, so make sure you get here as fast as possible~!"

How had I ended up back in my room?

I groaned and sat up, running my hands through my hair.

After sitting there for much too long, I finally decided to get up. As soon as I walked into the living room area, I was shocked into alertness.

There was something sitting on the table. Frowning, I picked it up.

It was another wrapped present, a note attached to the front.

Congratulations for surviving the first class trial! Here's your very valuable, much desired, gift!

Monoko

I pulled the note off and shook the box. Whatever was inside was heavy, and sounded oddly like clinking metal.

I had a sneaking suspicion of what it was.

I unwrapped the box and opened it and, sure enough, another pile of Monocoins was inside.

How useless.

I dropped the box on the ground and got changed, not really caring about the coins spilled over the floor.

As soon as I was ready, I left the room, making my way to the hall.

It seemed, unlike yesterday, I was actually one of the last ones to arrive this time.

"Where were you, bedhead?" Yuudai asked as soon as he noticed me.

"Eh?" I frowned, running a hand through my hair.

"I'm kidding. Your hair always looks like that." The Theatre Manager grinned, waving his hand.

"What's that bastard cat doing now?" Sora rolled her eyes.

"I'm not listening to it. I refuse!" Kioko harrumphed.

"Oiya, but there's nothing you can do about that!" The lights shut off, save for a spotlight at the front of the room, and amidst another rain of confetti, Monoko appeared.

"How many times are you going to use the same trick? It's getting boring." Seiichi yawned.

"Oiya, I spent good money on both the spotlight and the confetti, so I'll use it however many times I want to!" Monoko shouted, "and before any of you come up with more mean stuff to say, I'm going to reveal what I called you here for!"

"Are our words hurting you?" Sora asked, amused.

"Ufufu, you think your measly words will hurt a being such as I? That's just the cat's meow, isn't it?" Monoko cackled.

"That's the wrong use of the statement, I'm afraid." Alastor said.

"Will you let me speak?" Monoko asked.

"I thought you were going to continuously speak so we didn't have the chance to." Aimi tilted her head.

"I am!"

"How come you aren't speaking, then?" Rouko asked.

"I will!"

"Ha! Your stupid fuckin' script couldn't deal with us, could it?" Michi said.

"I don't have a script!"

"We're waiting, Monoko." Seiichi cupped his hand around his ear.

"If you would shut up-!"

"Why should we be quiet?" Yuudai asked, "and why wouldn't you use a script? Heathen."

"Because I'm trying to-!"

"Bah-bow, you've been stopped again!" Kioko threw her arms up into an 'X' gesture.

"Alright, I've had just about enough-"

"Nobody's gonna listen to you, Monoko. You're just plain boring." Alastor sighed. Monoko finally fell silent for a moment.

"Ha! You can't come up with anything else now, can ya?" Michi flipped off the cat.

But right as he finished his sentence, the lights shut off.

"Kyaaaaah! Not again!"

"You think the dark scares us?"

"Ah, Rouko...you're clinging to my arm...it hurts."

"Ah-! Sorry!"

"We're in the heart of darkness. How spooky." Yuudai hissed right in my ear.

"Gyagh!" I jumped away.

As soon as I did so, however, the lights flicked back on, and I heard a little jingle from my E-Pad.

I pulled it out of my pocket and turned it on.

New Updates!

Confused, I pressed on the pop up.

Updated Rule: No Harassing (verbally or physically) Monokos.

New Motive: If the blackened wins a trial, they can bring one classmate to graduate with them.

"Eh?" I asked.

"'Eh', indeed, Mister Parkour Expert!" Monoko popped up in the centre of our group, "ta-daaah! Another motive!"

"Fuck, you're annoying." Sora rolled her eyes, putting her E-Pad back in her pocket, "nobody cares."

"That's what you say, but-!"

"The type of person that sacrifices twelve for the ability to save two does not exist in this group." Tamotsu stated.

"Are you sure about that, because-"

"Outside isn't as appealing when you have to kill to get there." Fuyutake frowned.

"Plus, we've got food now!" Yuudai added.

"Your plan failed." Aimi sighed nonchalantly.

"Are you so sure about that?" Monoko disappeared before anyone could answer, leaving us in silence.

"T-the cat is stup-stupid." A voice suddenly spoke up from the other side of the room. We all turned to see Hisoka Yuuto in the corner, hood up.

"Woah, when did you get here?" Kioko asked.

"I've been h-here the whole time." Hisoka replied.

"Ah, how strange. You're very quiet." Aimi said.

The boy shrugged, "I-I don't try to be."

"If he's that fuckin' quiet I bet he could kill someone really easily." Michi accused.

"Stop being rude to him!" Kioko replied.

"I don't fuckin' know who he is. I'll be as rude as I want!" Michi flipped the Board Gamer off, but she stood her ground.

"Just because he hid doesn't mean he's bad!" She said.

"He was prolly planning a fuckin' murder!" Michi replied.

"Or he was hiding from you!" Kioko pressed a finger into the Speed Skater's chest.

"Don't fuckin' touch me!" He pushed himself backwards.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Kioko walked right up and did the same thing, forcing Michi backwards even further.

They repeated this until the shorter girl had him cornered.

"Stop being rude!" She shouted.

"If you touch me again I'll fuckin' kill you!"

"Papa taught me self defence! You won't lay a finger on me!"

"What? A tiny fuckin' board gamer is gonna beat Michi Katsu, the award-winning Speed Skater?"

"Well, I see why Yuuto disappeared." Aimi came up next to me, "we are quite loud."

"Put 'em up, big boy!" Kioko growled.

"Yeah...I guess so." I ran a hand through my hair.

"You think I'm gonna hit a girl?"

"Oh, so now you're trying to get out of it?"

"Fuck no! Michi Katsu'll fight anyone!"

"Then fight me!"

"You're too small!"

"So what? Size never matters!"

Yuudai burst out laughing.

The door slammed closed behind us.

I turned to see a flash of navy blue out of the windows, walking away.

Worried, I followed after, to nobody's notice. As soon as he heard me coming up behind him, Hisoka froze in place, squaring his shoulders.

"Hey, Yuuto." I came up next to him.

"W-What." He murmured in reply.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I don't b-belong there." He said.

"Yes you do. You're stuck with everyone else, aren't you?"

"Yo-you're all friends."

"I wouldn't say that..." I ran a hand through my hair.

"Whatever. I-I liked it in m-my room." Hisoka began to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" I called. He sighed and spun around, looking up at me.

"You aren't just going to disappear again, are you?" I asked.

He looked down, shuffled his feet, "I need to eat."

It seemed that was the only answer I would be getting, because he walked off, leaving me alone in the hallway.

Behind me I heard the faint sounds of chattering from the rest of the group. Ahead, a singular pair of footsteps, fading into the distance.

I had to clear my head.

I needed something simple - mindless, to do so I could stop thinking about things.

So I went to the classrooms, searched for a popular but plotless light novel, and went to the library to read.

I didn't realise I had spent so long there until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun to see Tamotsu looking slightly worried, Rei standing just behind him.

"Mr. Seiko, you have been gone all day." He said, "I was worried something might have happened."

"Ah, really?" I looked back to the light novel, only to realise I was on the last page, "I guess I got too into the story." I mumbled.

"I...like reading." Rei said.

"Do you read often, Mr. Seiko?" Tamotsu asked.

"I'm not actually a big reader...there's a couple of books I love but most of the time I watch online videos." I replied.

"In this world of technology, I believe most find more entertainment in visual media." Tamotsu said.

"I...like visual media." Rei said.

"Everyone's so close now, though. I have a worldwide following from my parkour videos." I closed the light novel.

"I...like parkour." Rei said.

Okay, that was getting weird.

"I have a similar story. I became famous through my music, which I shared on a website." Tamotsu sighed, "sometimes I cannot believe that Future's Hope found me in such a big sea of content."

I laughed, "they must have seen something in us."

"Indeed." Tamotsu nodded.

"I...like cell-"

"What's happening here?" I asked, cutting Rei off.

"What...do you mean?" The Exorcist asked.

"You're acting weird. Why do you suddenly like everything?" I frowned.

"Ah-I-uhm..." Rei looked at the floor.

"Allow me to explain." Tamotsu took a seat next to me, "Miss Amaterasu would like to make more people she would call 'friends'."

"Eh?" I asked.

"I...felt lonely. The spirits here...are difficult." Rei said, "they steal my...energy when...I exorcise them. I cannot rely...on them anymore."

I paused for a moment, trying to register her words.

"Wait...have you ever had living friends?" I asked.

Rei sighed, "Eki...was my friend. But Eki...isn't here."

"Who's Eki?"

"I cannot say... without consent."

"Oh."

An awkward silence, finally broken by Tamotsu.

"Do you have many friends, Asahi?"

"Eh?"

He laughed, "this is a strange conversation to be having as older teenagers, but friendship is important."

"Friendship...is magic." Rei murmured.

"I have one close friend." I ran my hands through my hair, "her name's Honami."

"Such a...pretty name." Rei said. She tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

"Her dad was friends with my parents, so we spent a lot of time together." I explained, "I kind of...live with her now."

"Live with her? What do you mean?" Tamotsu asked, surprised.

"Uhm...I left home. Honami took me in." I ran my hands through my hair again.

"Why did you leave?" Tamotsu tilted his head.

"I..." I looked at them both, then the floor, "I can't remember."

I lied.

The fact that Tamotsu had been able to get that much out of me already was surprising. Maybe it was his calmness, or the fact that he was everyone's 'dad' as Yuudai had said, but something about him made me want to spill all.

It's because I might die soon.

"I was brought up by my uncle. In fact, he taught me everything about the cello."

I might die soon and never see anyone again.

"I am quite lucky to have the title of 'ultimate', since I started playing cello professionally quite late on."

I won't be able to apologise for anything.

"In fact, psychology and biology were my major fields of study until my mid-teens."

"Oh, r-really?" I spat out, "that's cool."

Tamotsu laughed, "I suppose it is."

Later that day, I wandered back to my room, lost in thoughts.

Two people were never going to see their family again. And we had just been given another motive.

Who...was next?

Ah, this wasn't the time to be thinking about this stuff!

Isolating myself was only worsening things for me. I had to get out of my room and talk to someone!

It was then that I remembered Seiichi's invitation. I might as well see if it's still on the table. And, while I'm at it, maybe I can learn some more about him. I left my room and started to wander the halls, trying to find the Tailor.

After a while, I found myself in front of his talent room. I opened the door, and immediately found myself in a complete mess of a room.

Materials were scattered over the floor, and a large pile of clothes sat next to a table with a sewing machine on top and Seiichi sat behind, sewing something with such speed and proficiency I was worried he might end up accidentally sewing his finger as well. From what I could see of his face, he was in deep concentration, a measuring tape hanging out of his mouth. Behind him, a few mannequins were dressed in various outfits I had seen on my fellow classmates.

It seemed he had actually been getting requests for tailored clothing. I considered interrupting him, but he looked like he was on a roll with sewing. I didn't want to interrupt inspiration, so I quietly made my leave and looked around. Surprisingly, there was nobody in the halls. I decided to move downstairs, and, as soon as I did, I heard a commotion from the cafeteria. It sounded like...screaming? And a lot of shouting as well.

A little worried, I hurried over and pushed open the doors...to be hit right in the face by something warm, knocking me straight back out of the cafeteria and on my butt.

"Kyaaaaaaaah! I've hit Asahi!" The doors opened again and Kioko Kozakura pulled whatever was on my face off, throwing it away and squishing my cheeks.

"Are you okay?!" She shouted.

"I'm...fine. Why are you shouting?" I asked, trying to push her hands off my face.

"Am I?" She dropped her volume, "I didn't realise."

For a moment, she stared at me, and then her eyes widened in alarm, " have I deafened you too?! Kyaaah, I'm such a bad friend!" She shouted, clamping her hands over my ears.

"I'm fine, Kioko." I laughed, pushing her hands off, "I can hear everything."

"And your face?" She asked.

"Perfect." I replied.

"Ahh, that's so good! I was really worried I hurt you." She finally stepped away from me, sighing in relief.

"What's happening in there? What hit me?" I asked.

"Oh, uhmmm," Kioko grinned at me, "we're having a food fight with Yuudai's failed pancakes."

"Eh?"

"Do you wanna join in?"

"U-uhm..." I paused, "sure."

"Yay!" Kioko shouted, "it's so much fun! And there's a ton of pancakes so we're not gonna run out any time soon. Yuudai messed up every batch. Some of them are really soft, and others are just batter, and some are rock hard-"

"Rock hard!?"

"Yeah! I threw one at Katsu and it almost knocked him out."

"Uhm..." But before I could back out, Kioko had grabbed my arm and pulled me into the room.

It was a mess.

Batter was covering everything; the floor, the walls, tables and chairs. Speaking of tables and chairs, it seemed they were being used as shields, amongst collections of pans, trays and cutting boards. The tables had been flipped onto their sides, and I could see people hiding behind them, occasionally lifting their heads to throw a pancake across the room and hit a fellow classmate.

In the centre was the table we all ate meals at, the right way up and covered in batter from stray pancakes.

Yuudai stood at the very back of the room, sans both vest and button-up shirt, handing out pancakes to people who dared leave their positions of safety. His t-shirt read 'Hair Gel'.

Huh. I might have heard of that production before.

"Come on, Asahi! We have to load up on ammo and then choose a side!" Kioko gripped my hand and tugged me towards the table in the centre of the room.

"Hey, we aren't going on top of that, are we?" I asked.

"Yeah we are!" She shouted.

"What? Why?!" I cried.

"It's more fun!" She replied, and took off running. Not able to let go, I had no choice but to follow her. We jumped onto the table, and Kioko took off running without me.

"Runners in no-man's land! I repeat, runners in no-man's land!" Yuudai shouted at the top of his lungs.

Immediately, a series of war cries came from various sides of the room, and pancakes went flying.

If I stayed here too long, I would be hit!

I began running, leaping over the pancakes on the table and dodging the ones aimed at me. I was almost at the end of the table, Kioko a little bit ahead of me, when suddenly the Board Gamer slipped and began to fall. Adrenaline hitting, I bolted over, grabbed her before she landed, and lifted her back up. Then, without looking back, I bolted to the end of the table, leaped off, landed on some batter, and slid right into a table of pancakes at the back of the room, being buried under an avalanche of batter, the table hitting me right in the stomach.

"Kyaaaah! Asahi!" Kioko shouted.

"What a turn of events! Asahi Seiko, a newcomer to the great pancake war, has been felled by his own hand!" Yuudai shouted.

"I'm not letting that happen!" I heard footsteps bolting over to me, and then my face was cleared of pancakes. As soon as Kioko saw me, she relaxed.

"You're okay!" She cried.

"N-not really." I grunted. I tried to lift the table, and, surprisingly, managed. I pushed myself out of the way and sat up, rubbing my stomach.

"Ow." I groaned.

"Another twist! Asahi Seiko, newcomer to the pancake war, has survived the onslaught of pancakes!" Yuudai shouted.

"What?" I heard Michi Katsu shout from somewhere.

"It's crazy, right? He's definitely a Protagonist character!" Yuudai replied.

"Protagonist..?" I asked.

"Don't worry about that, Asahi. We need to load up!" Kioko cried. I looked over to see her gathering pancakes in her arms. I looked down at the food in my lap.

I picked up a pancake.

And threw it into Kioko's face.

"Kyaaah! Betrayed!" The Board Gamer shouted. Blinded by the food, she tried to aim one at me but it hit Yuudai instead.

"Hey! I'm just the mediary!" He shouted.

"Asahi! I'm gonna bury you in pancake!" She shouted in reply, leaping up.

"Too late!" I replied. I ran towards a random side of the room and launched myself behind a knocked-over table, ammo in hand.

"Welcome to the dark side, Fanboy." I looked over to see Sora. For once, she actually seemed to be in a good mood, grinning widely.

"Hi," I replied dumbly.

And so continued the great pancake war of our class.

Everything was going well until people started getting cocky.

Michi made a run (a skate?) for the food table but a stray pancake thrown by Kyung sent him to the ground fairly quickly, leaving - according to Sora - 'Team Losers' minus one person and Michi in a foul mood, sitting in the corner with his arms crossed.

Rouko tried to leap over a table to get to the front lines where Sora and I were, but tripped and faceplanted into the ground.

Kioko jumped right into the middle of no-man's land, a chair as her shield, but was hit by her own teammates accidentally, causing her to join Michi in the corner, glaring at everyone.

Alastor popped up out of nowhere right next to our base, terrifying me, and was about to send pancakes flying until Sora leaped up and tackled him to the ground, starting a scuffle which ended in another table of pancakes being toppled - and, due to the distraction - a mad rush for said food items while nobody was throwing things.

Fuyutake was letting out war cries and popping up in places with such speed I thought she might be teleporting, and left a few of us desperately trying to dodge attacks from her.

Yuudai eventually gave up being the mediator and disappeared into the kitchen for a few minutes, returning with two metal trays strapped to his chest and back and a stick of butter on his forehead, throwing himself head first into no-man's land and, instead of joining a team, fighting everyone.

However, he didn't last long, and was in fact felled by his own trays, which flipped up while he was jumping off a table and smacked him in both his face and the back of his head simultaneously, leaving him to also join the 'angry corner' with Michi and Kioko.

Eventually it was just Fuyutake on one side, and Kyung and I on the other.

Alastor and Sora were fighting each other now and Rouko was still on the ground after tripping.

"I'm not losing today!" Fuyutake shrieked, throwing a pancake.

"Two...is better than one!" Kyung replied, dodging the food and frisbeeing one back.

Fuyutake ducked under it cleanly, "ha! You think that'll stop me?" In a split second there were pancakes headed both Kyung and my way.

Panicked, I ducked behind the table, but Kyung wasn't so lucky. I heard a smack, a groan, and when I looked around Kyung was on the floor next to Rouko.

"Go on...without me...Asahi. I know...you can do this." She whispered, handing me a pancake.

I looked at the pancake, then at her, and felt an instinct come over me.

I took the pancake.

I looked at Fuyutake.

Her face paled, "don't you go all anime protagonist on me." She said.

I smiled, and launched myself into no-man's land, grabbing a chair and jumping on top of another one. Fuyutake immediately went into defensive mode, throwing pancakes willy nilly, but her aim was off. I jumped onto the table and bobbed down, the chair a makeshift shield.

Somehow, I felt like a popular superhero character I had seen. I felt a few pancakes hit the chair, and then I leaped up, launched the pancake, and the door burst open and a booming voice echoed through the room.

"What kind of a mess are you all making in here?" Tamotsu Ryuunosuke stood in the doorway, Aimi, Rei and Seiichi standing behind him.

At that moment, the pancake hit Fuyutake straight in the nose, and she fell backwards, groaning.

"Why didn't you invite me?" Seiichi shouted from behind Tamotsu.

"Who started this?" Tamotsu asked.

We made eye contact with each other, and pointed to Yuudai.

"Hey!" He shouted.

"Mr. Kenen, I expected better of you." Tamotsu sighed, "who is going to clean this mess up?"

"Uh..." Yuudai looked at the floor.

"Oh! I know the answer!" Kioko threw her hands up, "Monoko!"

"I ain't cleaning your mess up, kiddos!" Monoko suddenly appeared on top of a stack of pancakes.

"Great. Good dad, bad dad." Fuyutake pointed to Monoko and Tamotsu, who both reeled back at the statement.

"I am not your father!"

"I'm your cuddly, compassionate mascot, not a parent!"

"Same difference." Sora shrugged.

"Miss. Yukiko!" Tamotsu's eye's widened, "I expected better of you!"

"Hey, fun is fun." The Snowboarder replied, resting an elbow on Alastor's shoulder.

"Mister Croupier, aren't you meant to be the mediator?" Monoko crossed its arms, "I'm very disappointed in you!"

Alastor shrugged, "I cannot live without some childish fun once in a while."

"If Mr. Kenen is responsible for this, maybe he can use his managerial talent to organise a clean-up." Tamotsu said.

"I manage theatres, not cleaning!" Yuudai protested.

"Says you! You stopped me from leading the rescue mission so you could fuckin' manage!" Michi replied.

"What rescue mission?" Fuyutake asked.

"Michi's blowing it outta proportion again." Sora sighed.

"I'm not! Under my leadership, we coulda all got out of here!" Michi replied.

"Bah-bow! I think you're wrong!" Kioko made an 'X' with her arms.

"Monoko stopped us!" Yuudai replied, "it said we couldn't open locked doors."

"You let the cat out of the bag!" Monoko said approvingly.

"You can't even use sayings about cats properly!" Sora threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Waaaah, I'm being attacked again!" Monoko disappeared.

We all turned to Tamotsu. He stared us down.

"I am not mad," he began.

"Oh no." Yuudai clamped his hands over his ears.

"I am just disappointed." Tamotsu finished, shaking his head.

"No eight words carry the same power as those." Fuyutake groaned, "now I feel like crap."

"And while you 'feel like crap', as you say, start cleaning this cafeteria. I am going to start making dinner." Tamotsu said.

"Uhm, I wouldn't go in there." Yuudai said.

"How come?" Tamotsu pushed open the kitchen door.

A moment later, he came back out, "I see why."

"I-I'll clean the kitchen..." Yuudai skittered off.

"I'll help!" I replied. I couldn't stand feeling Tamotsu's glare on us for another second. It just felt so...parental.

The kitchen was a hellscape.

Flour was all over the floors and walls, and dough was in places dough should never have the ability to be. Multiple cooking utensils, plates, bowls, and other things littered the counters. There was even a waffle maker lying in the sink, unused but covered in flour. The bins were overflowing with packets of random things, and, for some strange reason, chocolate chips littered the floor.

"Uh, Yuudai?" I asked.

"Eh?" The Theatre Manager replied.

"H-how did you make this big a mess?" I ran a hand through my hair.

"Oh, well..." He looked around, "I'm not sure, actually."

For a while, we cleaned, listening to the muffled voice of Tamotsu directing people in the cafeteria.

"Hey, Yuudai," I picked up an empty packet of flour, "aren't you writing a play?"

"Oh, that?" Yuudai said from the other side of the room, "it's just to keep my mind off things."

"Is writing plays what you do as a theatre manager?" I asked.

"No." Yuudai laughed, "actually, I don't think my talent really suits who I am. It was the only one they had room for, though I would have preferred stage manager."

"You mean there's already a stage manager at Future's Hope?" I asked.

"I-uh...I can't quite remember." He frowned.

"What's the difference between a theatre and stage manager, anyway?"

"Are you serious?" Yuudai poked his head up from the other side of one of the kitchen benches, staring me down.

"Uhm...yes?" I replied, a little in fear of his facial expression.

"It's in the title." Yuudai sighed, and disappeared again behind the bench. For a while it was silent, and I was worried that maybe I was the only person who didn't know the difference, but, finally, he spoke again.

"A theatre manager manages the theatre. You know, front-of-house, box office, organising what shows happen in a year...all that stuff. A stage manager gets the fun job. They manage the plays that get performed by the company they work for. They help with rehearsals, the execution of a production, all that stuff. I have experience in both, but I guess I was just a little more talented in the theatre management part." He explained.

"So, if you aren't a stage manager...why are you writing a play?"

"Asahi..." Yuudai sighed disapprovingly, "people can have multiple interests."

"O-oh, uhm...I know that." I replied.

"Then what are your other interests?"

"Uhm..." I ran a hand through my hair, thinking. Other interests...other than parkour, what was I interested in?

"L-light...novels...?" I said.

"That didn't sound too convincing." Yuudai replied.

"I used to read them all the time..." I frowned. Did I really have no interests?

"Hey, if you're struggling to find hobbies, I can always get you to help with the production. Seiichi's tailoring costumes for me already, and I'm writing, but you could do...I dunno...set design or something." Yuudai poked his head up again, resting his chin on the table.

I thought about it. A group project. Normally, those would be a setting for disaster, but with Ultimates...I felt like something good could happen.

"I can help." I smiled.

"Awesome!" Yuudai pumped his fist into the air, "I can't wait to get this thing off the ground!"

"How is your clean-up going in here?" Tamotsu suddenly stepped into the room. After a quick survey, he nodded, and looked at both of us, "it seems we might have a somewhat respectable kitchen when I begin making dinner."

"Dinner? What's for dinner?" Yuudai leaped up.

"Nothing if you do not clean the kitchen in time." Tamotsu looked at both of us pointedly, then relaxed, "I must say, as ridiculous as that food fight was, I am glad to see Miss. Ganko seems to have become part of the group again."

He was right.

Fuyutake had gone from being the outsider to joining us all in that pancake war, even becoming the last survivor for her team. She had gained everyone's trust again.

I felt a smile come up on me.

So there was hope, after all.

DING DONG BING BONG!

"Attention kiddos, it is now 10pm, which means go to bed! Now! Go! Do you want to get killed?"

I headed up the stairs to my room when, suddenly, I heard a loud fight coming from down the hall.

Curious, I turned the corner to see Rouko Soba blocking Hisoka Yuuto's door, stopping the boy from entering. Kyung Hye watched from a little bit away, worried.

"You have to socialise with us!" Rouko shouted.

"I j-just want to go to my room." Hisoka replied, kicking at the floor.

"No! Because if you go back to your room, you won't leave again, and how are we supposed to make friends with you if you hide?" Rouko asked.

"I won't." Hisoka said.

"Rouko...please let him go." Kyung spoke up.

"No! He has to make friends!" Rouko replied.

"Your...assumptions...might be too big." Kyung said. It took me a minute to figure out what she was trying to say.

"They aren't! Yuuto, you have to make friends! Go out and talk to people!" Rouko said.

"I-I'm...I'm tired." Hisoka stuttered.

"Then we'll have a sleepover!" Rouko reached over to touch Hisoka, but he stumbled backwards, alarmed.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked.

"Yuuto won't talk to us!" Rouko said.

"It is...night time. Let him sleep." Kyung sighed.

"P-please let me through..." Hisoka murmured, reaching for the door handle.

Rouko threw herself in front of it though, surprising the poor boy.

"He'll probably come out tomorrow morning." I said, "why now?"

"Because!" Rouko harrumphed.

"We haven't seen him...since the trial." Kyung expanded, "Rouko was worried."

"We'll do a Fuyutake on him! He can join us in a food fight or something and then everyone'll trust him!" Rouko shouted.

"A food fight now?" Kyung scratched her head.

"Yeah!"

"Isn't that a little bit...imaginary?"

"I-imaginary?" Hisoka asked.

"That's not the right word...but yes! Imaginary! Like you were before the trial, Yuuto!" Rouko cried, "now come with us!"

"J-just let me sleep, p-please." Hisoka mumbled.

"Sleep-over, you mean." Rouko grabbed Hisoka's hand and tried to pull him away, but he stood his ground.

"Rouko, just leave him alone, maybe." I said.

"No!" The Translator replied. She tried to pull him behind her but only got a couple of steps before Kyung stopped her.

"This has...gone too far." She said. She gripped Rouko's arm and pried her fingers away from Hisoka's hand, finally letting the boy go.

"T-thanks." He spun and dipped into his room, slamming the door behind him.

"You can let go of me now, Kyung." Rouko grumbled.

The Exchange Student didn't move.

She was too busy staring at something on Rouko's wrist.

"Come on, you're gripping too tightly." Rouko laughed, but it was higher-pitched. Stressed, even.

There was silence in the hallway. Until,

"What's...that?" Kyung suddenly asked.

"What's..." Rouko turned around to look at her wrist, "what." She whispered. Her face began to turn bright red. Curious, I took a few steps forward, and noticed what Kyung was looking at.

In her attempt to pull Rouko away from Hisoka, she had accidentally pulled the Translator's shirt sleeve up. Peeking out from it was a large scar. It ran up her arm, and disappeared under the sleeve.

"N-nothing! It's nothing!" Rouko hurriedly yanked her arm out of Kyung's hand and pulled the sleeve down, and in turn her other sleeve rode up a little, revealing a burn-like scar on her other arm.

"Rouko..." Kyung grabbed her arm before she could pull down her other sleeve and ran her fingers over the scar. The Translator shivered.

"Don't." She tried to pull her hand away but Kyung held tight, pushing the sleeve up further.

I gasped.

There were more scars.

So many, in fact, that I couldn't see a clean piece of skin.

"Rouko," Kyung didn't seem to be able to say anything else, only looking at her friend with teary eyes.

Rouko stared back, in fear, but she quickly covered it with anger and yanked her arm away, pulling the sleeve down.

"It's not important." She growled, backing up.

"Wait-!" I took a step forward, but Rouko moved back even further. She held her arms up defensively.

"Don't touch me!" She shouted, hitting the wall and immediately looking around for an escape. Her breathing shortened.

"I-I'll fight you! Get away!" She threw a weak punch, and I skittered back, throwing my hands up in defence.

"Rouko, I'm not going to hurt you!" I said.

"Do you...need a hug?" Kyung asked, reaching her arms out. Rouko saw what was happening and a shrill scream escaped her lips, and she ducked under Kyung's arms, bolting down the hallway and into her room.

"Rouko!" Kyung ran after the girl, and I followed hot on her heels, entering her room. Rouko was in the living area, but as soon as she saw us she made a bolt for the door, eyes wild.

Kyung slammed it closed in front of her, though, and Rouko hurriedly diverted to the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind her.

"Rouko, let me in!" Kyung cried, rattling the door handle. A horrified shriek came from inside, making my heart drop.

"Kyung, leave her be!" I shouted.

"No!" The Exchange Student replied, slamming on the door.

"You're scaring her!" I pushed my way in front of the door, stopping her, but in a rage, unseeing of me, Kyung just continued banging.

I felt my stomach turning, the sudden stress of the situation and not knowing what to do getting to me. I couldn't just let Kyung continue, but I couldn't stop her, either.

Argh, I couldn't think straight! There was way too much noise!

You could use that.

I looked around the room, and suddenly an idea came to mind. I ducked around Kyung and ran into the centre of the bedroom, and, at the top of my lungs, screamed "Monoko!"

"You call-Geez, why is it so loud in here?" The cat clamped its paws over its ears.

"I need you to use the PA system. In this room only." I said.

"What? Why? When? Now? Why now? What's going on? What's the gossip? Why are you waking me uuuup?" Monoko went through a range of emotions before settling on annoyed.

"Look, just do it for me. Don't say anything, just switch it on." I said.

"And then I can nap?" It asked.

"Whatever, just do it!" I replied.

"Oiya! Don't be rude to your principal!" Monoko huffed, before disappearing.

Less than a moment later, a loud screech echoed through the room, causing me to press my hands over my ears.

After what felt like too long, it finally cut off.

"Happy now?" Monoko shouted over the system.

"Thanks..." I mumbled.

Looking over at the bathroom, I noticed Kyung was now sitting with her back to the door, looking defeated.

"Now that everything's calmed down," I began, but never got to finish.

"Everything is not calm!" Kyung glared at me and growled something in Korean.

"Sorry," I ran my hands through my hair.

Kyung looked at me, then the floor, and began to cry.

"Hey, wait-" I was ignored.

"Why would you do that, Rouko?" Kyung asked.

There was no answer.

At least, not until,

"I don't want to talk." Rouko managed to murmur from the other side of the door.

"But-" Kyung was stopped.

"It's over. It was over a long time ago." Rouko replied.

"You can't just...hide it!" Kyung said.

"Can you just...leave." The Translator's tone had gone from emotional to completely monotone.

"I'm not leaving you alone." Kyung wiped her eyes.

"...Do you pity me?"

Kyung fell silent.

"If you do," Rouko paused, "stop. I didn't do this to myself."

"What? Who...did?" Kyung whispered.

"She doesn't exist anymore." Rouko said the words with such venom I couldn't help but feel a shiver run down my spine. Kyung looked at the door, then at me, a question.

"Leave her be." I said softly.

"What if-"

I shook my head. Kyung looked like she was about to listen to me, but at the last moment she frowned, stood up, and walked over to the couch in the living area, seating herself.

"I'm sleeping in here...tonight." She said.

I was about to argue with her, but something told me not to. I would only make things worse.

In fact, I was pretty sure sticking around would make things worse too.

Kyung and Rouko spent all their time together.

They were always there for each other.

So...they would get over this, right?

"Be safe." I said, leaving.

I felt my heart turn as I closed the door behind me.

Everything was not calm.

Ding dong bing bong!

"Attention students, it is now 7am! Get out of bed and stop sulking~!"

Worry had kept me from a deep sleep, and when I looked in the mirror I noticed I had gained some eye bags not unlike Rei's, but less prominent. Nobody was knocking on my door this morning, but I had things to do.

To distract myself.

I met Tamotsu in the kitchen, seeing only a few people in the halls as I moved downstairs. He was humming a melody to himself as he prepared what looked to be the beginnings of grilled fish and miso soup. To the right of me were two industrial size rice cookers, switched on.

"When did you get up?" I asked him.

The Cello Player jumped, "oh!" And turned, seeing me. As soon as he did, he sighed.

"Mr. Seiko, I did not expect you to be so silent." He said.

"Ah, well...breaking into abandoned buildings for parkour helped me, I guess." I ran a hand through my hair.

"Breaking into abandoned...Mr. Seiko, have you done illegal things to become an ultimate?" He asked, shocked.

"The police never pulled me up on it." I shrugged. Instead of answering, Tamotsu gave me a disappointed look and shook his head.

"Sorry dad." I mumbled.

We made breakfast in relative silence, with Tamotsu giving me directions every so often on what to do. After only half an hour, we had fourteen plates of steaming food sitting on a counter and a ruckus of voices coming from the cafeteria.

"Mr. Seiko." Tamotsu bowed to me, "thank you very much for helping me today."

"U-uhm-" I ran my hands through my hair, surprised at the formality, "you don't have to thank me. We're friends, right?"

"Do friends not thank each other? Ah, maybe I am just stuck in my traditional roots." Tamotsu chuckled light-heartedly.

"Traditional roots?" I frowned.

"Yes. Though I was taught cello by my uncle, he also taught me the traditional ways of our family line. Before I came to Future's Hope, I would wear a kimono every day." Tamotsu looked like he was about to say something, but stopped himself. A sad smile crossed his face.

"Did something happen...to your uncle?" I asked quietly.

"Cancer." Tamotsu replied after a moment, "the man who was my inspiration never saw me become an Ultimate."

I wasn't sure how to reply. Saying sorry just felt empty, and trying to change the subject would be rude. A melancholic silence passed over us as we stood in the kitchen, sharing a moment of respect for the people we had lost.

It didn't last long, though.

"What the fuck's the holdup? I'm starvin'!" Michi Katsu shouted from somewhere in the cafeteria.

"Ah, right." I shook myself into action, grabbing a couple of plates and beginning to walk out.

"Fuckin' finally!" Michi shouted. He skated over and snatched a plate out of my hands, seating himself at the head of the table, far from where everyone else was sitting in the middle.

"Hey! That was rude!" Kioko called.

"I have to train!" Michi replied. He began shovelling the food into his mouth. I grimaced and walked to the first person seated - Yuudai - and gave him a plate.

"Woah, this looks great!" He said.

"Tamotsu made it. I just cut up stuff." I replied.

"You still helped." Yuudai grinned at me, "thanks, Asahi!"

"It's okay." I laughed a little, before heading back to the kitchen.

I pushed the door open, grabbing some more plates, and began handing them out. Tamotsu had come out of his memories as well and started bringing plates out too. As I handed food to everyone, I became aware of something weird.

Rouko and Kyung were sitting at opposite sides of the table. They were nowhere near each other.

Rouko looked defeated. She barely noticed when I put a plate in front of her. Instead, she sat rigidly in her chair, staring at the table, her hands gripping the edge tightly, like she was about to fall. I made a note to talk to her later.

Kyung, on the other hand, was quite the social butterfly. Rei, specifically, seemed to gravitate towards her, but she was talking to a few others as well. It seemed that even without Rouko's help, she had improved her Japanese, to the point now where she could keep up with everyone's conversations.

Finally, everyone had food and I grabbed a plate for myself, taking a seat next to Fuyutake.

Ever since yesterday's battle, she seemed to have reintegrated herself into the group dynamic. She barely even noticed I was there when I sat down, too busy talking. That was, until she almost elbowed me in the face while sharing a dramatic story about a midnight escapade she'd gone on last night to find food and avoid Monoko.

According to her, she'd managed to make a grilled cheese, even thought she had no knives to cut the cheese.

"I used my karate skills!" She said, and I narrowly avoided her arm as it swung at me.

"Woah, watch out! You almost hit Asahi!" Kioko shouted, "that's my job!"

"Eh?" Fuyutake asked.

"Eh?" I asked.

The Graffiti Artist turned to see me, "When did you get here?"

"A couple of minutes ago." I replied.

"Damn. You're quiet." She said.

"He's like a ninja! Or a spy!" Kioko added.

"Ah, not really." I ran a hand through my hair, "my hair wouldn't help."

"White!" Kioko shouted, "that's right! I still haven't touched your hair!" Immediately she leaped up onto the table, dodging some plates and cups to get over to me. She jumped off between Fuyutake and I, and turned to me, hands on her hips.

"Gimme your head." She said.

"Eh?" I asked.

"Go on, Asahi. Chop it off." Fuyutake poked her head around the Board Gamer.

"Eh?!" I grabbed my neck, "You can't have it!"

"I'm just kidding." Fuyutake poked her tongue out, and reached over to ruffle my hair.

"Bah bow!" Kioko karate chopped the Graffiti Artists hand down, "I got dibs on touching Asahi's hair first!"

"Aw man." Fuyutake laughed. Kioko spun to me, and an excited smile came over her face.

"I've been waiting since the first day." She said.

"I-I told you, it's not that interesting." I said, "it's just hair."

"It's more than hair!" Kioko shouted right in my face, "it's hair that's different!"

"Uhm..." I ran my hand through my hair.

"I'm so excited!" Kioko lifted her arms, reaching for my head, "my first time..."

"Word choice, Kioko." Fuyutake said.

"Shush!" The Board Gamer replied. She bit her lip, eyes wide, and reached for my hair.

But then I felt someone slam their hand down on my head and start ruffling my hair violently.

"Kyaaaah!" Kioko shouted, angrily this time, "Yuudai, I hate you!"

"It's your fault." The hand came away from my head, "you made me want to touch Asahi's hair." Yuudai giggled.

"You're so mean!" Kioko glared behind me, "you ruined my moment!"

"Hey, you can still touch his hair." Yuudai said.

"But I was gonna be the first! The only other person that's touched Asahi's hair is Asahi!"

"Actually, people touched my hair outside of this place." I said, trying to fix the mess the Theatre Manager had made.

"That doesn't count!" Kioko replied.

"Okay, fine. How about I was the first person to touch Asahi's hair in the cafeteria? Then you can be the first to touch his hair anywhere else." Yuudai said. I spun to see him giving Kioko the thumbs up.

"Woah, what a great idea!" Kioko cried.

"Uhm, there's a person attached to this hair..." I said.

"Fine! I dibs on touching Asahi's hair first everywhere else!" Kioko ignored me.

"Hmmm," Yuudai put a finger to his chin, "fine."

"Yay!" Kioko grinned.

She spun around, leaped up onto the table again, and made her way back to her seat. Yuudai, also ignoring me, went to his seat too.

"Your hair stands out more than you do." Fuyutake laughed.

I sighed.

After breakfast was finished, Tamotsu got everyone's attention to explain the new kitchen roster. He had chosen Kyung, Alastor, Aimi and I to help him in shifts with cooking. Today was my turn, tomorrow was Aimi's, and so on. Since everyone had lunch at different times we were left to our own devices, but I'd have to be back at dinner.

Yuudai was thoroughly unimpressed with the situation, but Tamotsu only had to utter the word 'batter' to shut the Theatre Manager up. After that, he let us all go.

I was going to find Rouko, but Seiichi caught up to me before I could.

"Hey, Asahi! Come to the onsen with me later." He said. Before I could answer, he ran off.

Well, at least I wasn't being dragged around again.

I continued on my way to find the Translator, and, after much too long, found her in the library, reading something.

"Rouko?" I knocked on one of the bookshelves, gaining her attention.

She looked up at me, scowled, and went back to her book, "I don't want to talk."

"I just wanted to make sure you were doing ok-" I was stopped.

"What makes you think I'd be doing okay?" She asked.

"W-well, maybe that was the wrong word choice..." I ran a hand through my hair.

"Look, there's a few people I don't want to see at all right now. You're one of them. So if you could leave, right now, I'd be much happier." Rouko said, turning back to her book.

"Do you want to talk about anything?" I pushed.

"No." Rouko put her book up, ignoring me.

Well, that wasn't what I was expecting.

But, if she didn't want to talk, there wasn't much I could do.

"See you." I waved, and left the room. She didn't respond.

I spent most of the morning in the cafeteria, mulling over things in a corner.

However, I was interrupted.

"E-excuse me." A voice murmured, "that's-that's my s-seat."

"Eh?" I looked up to see Hisoka Yuuto, his hoodie down, looking at me. He was holding a plate with a singular piece of bread on it, lathered with butter.

"I-I usually sit there." He stuttered.

"Can't you move to a different seat?" I asked.

He looked around at the empty cafeteria, then turned back to me, "N-no."

"Fine." I sighed, shifting over a seat. Hisoka sat down and picked at his bread, eating very little. For a while it was absolute silence.

Finally, I decided to say something.

"So...how was your day, Yuuto?" I asked.

"T-that's your opening line?" The boy took a small bite of the toast.

"Oh, well, uhm..." I ran a hand through my hair.

"That q-question is about as plain as-as this toast." He said.

"For someone so quiet, you've got a mouth on you." I mumbled.

"W-was I rude?" Hisoka suddenly dropped his toast and his eyes went wide.

"Eh?" I asked.

"I-I was obse-obs-observing everyone's b-behaviour and s-saw that people who were c-close usually insulted each o-other." He pulled his hoodie up and tugged the strings until only his nose poked out.

"Uh, no, it's...fine, Yuuto. I just don't know you that well yet." I waved my hands.

"Real-ly?" He whispered.

"Yeah." I said.

"Okay." He unsinched his hoodie strings.

"So, who...who are you, anyway?" I asked.

"H-Hisoka Yuuto." He replied.

"You really don't have an ultimate talent?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No. I don't-t have many things that a-are certain, but that's one of them." He said.

"How did you end up here, then?" I asked.

"I-I don't know." His voice filled with emotion, "I don't w-want to be here."

"Nobody does." I sighed.

"But I don't b-belong." He stuttered, "t-this isn't my...p-place."

"Maybe that's because you disappeared for a really long time." I shrugged, "it's never too late to start making friends."

"B-But it is." Hisoka said.

"I'm trying to become your friend." I said. He paused.

For a few seconds he sat in complete stillness. I wasn't sure what to do. Finally, though, he spoke.

"I-I g-gotta go." He stammered. He pulled his hoodie strings tighter around his face and grabbed his plate, disappearing out of the cafeteria doors.

Huh?

My confusion was short-lived, though, as Seiichi suddenly burst into the room. He looked around for a millisecond before zeroing in on me.

"Asahi! Come on, we're going to the onsen." He huffed.

"Were you running?" I asked, climbing out of my seat.

"Yes! I was getting all the guys together so we could go, but when I walked past it I caught Fuyutake trying to get in instead! Since it was an emergency, I had to send Alastor to distract her, and now I have to hurry and get everyone else so she doesn't end up going in!" He shouted.

"Oh, okay." I began walking over to him, but the closer I got, the more fidgety Seiichi got.

Finally, he gave up, let out a yelp of frustration, and ran over, grabbing my arm.

"Come on, Asahi! We have people to collect!" He launched into a run, and I stumbled after, finally getting to his pace, which was actually really fast.

In less than five minutes we had Tamotsu and Yuudai. Hisoka had disappeared and Michi started shouting at us as soon as we got into his talent room, so in the end it was just the five of us going to the onsen.

"-Been lovely talking to you, Ganko." We heard Alastor say. Immediately, we turned the corner as the Graffiti Artist turned around to scan her E-Pad.

"Nooooo!" Seiichi shouted, launching himself forward and into the blonde. They both collapsed the the floor, and in the ensuing confusion Yuudai sprinted forward and scanned his pad, running inside.

"Mr. Shigeru!" Tamotsu moved to where the two were on the ground and pulled the Tailor off.

"Are we safe? Did someone go inside?" He asked, completely ignoring the fact that he was being held inches off the ground.

"What was that for?" Fuyutake sat up, fixing her shirt, "that's not how you cop a feel!"

"E-eh?!" Seiichi asked.

"Just when I thought I would be fine here." Fuyutake rolled her eyes, standing.

"I wasn't trying anything!" Seiichi argued.

"Yeah, sure." Fuyutake took her E-Pad back out.

"I swear! I am in a loving relationship with my boyfriend!" Seiichi cried.

"So you're cheating now, too?" Fuyutake gasped.

"No-Tamotsu, put me down!" Seiichi kicked his legs in a fruitless attempt at escaping.

"Apologise to Miss. Ganko." The Cello Player simply replied.

"For what? Knocking her over?" Seiichi asked.

"Obviously." Alastor said.

"My E-Pad isn't working..." Fuyutake grumbled, turning around. Suddenly, she noticed the amount of people around her.

"Geez, what's happening? Where did you all come from?" She asked.

"We're going to the onsen!" Seiichi replied.

"Not anymore." Fuyutake poked her tongue out and spun, trying to scan the pad again.

However, it kept coming up with an error message whenever she tried.

"Dammit...Seiichi, did you break my E-Pad when you knocked me over?" She asked.

"No! I was trying to stop you so we could go in!" Seiichi replied.

"That's no better!" She cried.

"Hey, I've been meaning to come here for days, but every time I try one of the girls is inside!" He replied.

"So?" She asked, "we get there earlier. Tough luck."

"No! Not tough luck! You're being selfish!" Seiichi tried to make a grab at her, but he was still being held by Tamotsu.

"Monoko said its first in, best dressed." Fuyutake shrugged.

"Oh? Oh, really?" Seiichi looked towards the CCTV camera on the wall in front of the onsen, "Hey, Monoko! Get down here and explain the rules!"

"Willllll do~!" Suddenly the cat appeared in our midst, "But be prepared to be proven wrong, Mister Tailor!"

"What?!" Seiichi shouted.

"Miss Graffiti Artist is correct~! Whoever gets to the onsen first is the one that registers what gender can be allowed in for the period of time the person is inside!" Monoko said, "so if Miss Graffiti Artist goes inside first, only the girls are allowed in until they all leave! If Mister Tailor goes in first, only the boys are allowed in until they all leave!"

"But there's nobody in there right now, so why isn't my E-Pad working?" Fuyutake waved the pad in Monoko's face, annoyed.

"Ah ah, Miss Graffiti Artist. Unfortunately, you can't win every argument! While you and Seiichi were having some fun on the floor, someone managed to get inside the onsen!"

"What?! Who?" Fuyutake asked.

"That's for me to know and you to find out!" Monoko replied.

"Wait, this isn't fair!" She cried.

"First in best dressed." Monoko cackled, "oh, what a cat-astrophe for you!" And with that, the thing disappeared. Fuyutake looked at us all, then the door.

"You guys suck!" She stormed off.

For a moment, we were silent. But then...Seiichi began to laugh.

"Yuudai Kenen, I love you!" He shouted.

"Well, I'd say that's been my drama for the morning. I'm going inside." Alastor pressed a hand to his forehead and scanned his E-Pad, walking into the onsen.

"I do hope Miss. Ganko is not too upset with us." Tamotsu finally put Seiichi down, following the Croupier inside.

"Ha ha! It's our turn now!" Seiichi rushed inside, and I followed after, amused by everyone's antics.

This group...it was a good group. I mean, we'd only known each other for a few days, yet here we were, able to joke around and make the best of our situation.

I just hoped Michi and Hisoka would become closer to everyone.

We spent the next few hours in the onsen, relaxing. I only realised how nice it actually was when I walked in for the first time.

Seeing the changing room had been an experience in itself, but through the doorway to the baths was something I had never expected.

The whole room was huge, steamy, and where I thought there would have been only one bath, there were multiple.

In the centre, where the other boys had decided to settle, was a basic giant mineral bath, big enough to fit probably the entire 'class' comfortably. On the far wall was a long, thin bath that was milky white in colour; a sulfur bath. On the left side were three smaller baths, each one a different type.

From what I could see, they all looked the same, but on a stand in front of them was a label, possibly naming what each bath's type was. On the right was one bath and, next to that, a simple door with the title Sauna. The bath had a stand which I could read. It said Alkaline.

There were tiled floors connecting all the baths, and each one had a natural looking slope into the water, rather than stairs.

"Hey, Asahi! What are you waiting for?" A voice called. I looked over to see Seiichi standing up in the water, waving me over.

"Oh, uhm," I ran a hand through my hair, "I was just looking around."

"Why look when you can experience?" He asked.

"Ah, good point." I felt my face grow a little pink and stepped into the middle bath, the heat making my skin burn a little.

I walked in further until, finally, I was fully submerged to my torso in the water. I waded over to where the others were sitting and sat down on a ledge which ran around the edge of the bath, leaving only my head poking out above the water.

"This is so relaxing." Seiichi said, "who knew manmade onsens could be just as good as natural ones?"

"You must have lived in the country to be closer to a natural one." Yuudai laughed.

"Oh, that's not true. My family were just really picky." Seiichi replied.

And the afternoon continued like that. Bouts of silence, sometimes filled with short, idle chatter about meaningless things.

We were all too busy relaxing to think about anything serious. As I breathed in the steam, I felt my head getting lighter, the weight on my shoulders lifting.

For a while, it felt like the last week had never happened. In fact, it felt like none of this had ever happened. We weren't trapped in a building. We were a group of people, spending time together relaxing after a stressful day of schooling.

We were...friends.

Friends.

My eyes shot open.

What?

Why had that word clicked? Nothing else had come after it...no memories, no great reveals...just the word.

Friends.

Ding Dong Bing Bong!

"Attention students, it is now 10pm! Leave all out of bounds areas within the next ten minutes lest you suffer the consequences~!"

Tamotsu shot out of the water, "dinner!"

"Geez, why are you all shouting?" Yuudai groaned, covering his ears, "I was having a nap."

"In the water?!" Seiichi asked.

"You could have drowned." Alastor stated.

"Don't worry about me, I've got skills." Yuudai went to lean his head back on the edge of the bath but failed, instead dunking his head straight into the water. A few seconds later he resurfaced, coughing and spluttering.

"You really should be more careful." Alastor said.

"Glasses..." Yuudai coughed, "lost my glasses."

"They can't have fallen far." Alastor said, "do you need help finding them?"

"No, you guys can go on ahead. I'll keep searching." The Theatre Manager sighed.

"But you've only got ten minutes." Alastor replied.

"Then you should go. There's no point in all of us being punished." Yuudai said.

"You make a fair point." The Croupier replied, "fine. I shall take my leave."

"I'm going too. I have work to do and I'm not letting Monoko punish me before it's done!" Seiichi left.

"I cannot believe I have forgotten dinner. I need to go to the kitchen and make sure everyone is fed." Tamotsu disappeared too, leaving me and Yuudai.

"I'll help." I said.

"No, you should leave." He replied.

"If there's two of us looking we'll find them faster." I said. Yuudai looked over at me and sighed.

"You're kinda blurry, but from what I can see you're staying no matter what I say." He said.

"At least until the ten minutes is up." I replied.

"Fine," Yuudai began to walk around, searching for his glasses. I followed suit, heading the opposite way.

After a few minutes of not finding anything, Yuudai groaned annoyedly and stood, stretching his back, "You know what, Monoko probably has a replacement set anyway."

"How long have we got before the ten minutes is up?" I asked.

"You have thirty seconds! Get out!" Monoko shouted over the PA system.

"Dammit!" Yuudai scrambled to get out of the bath and bolted into the changing area.

I followed after, barely even bothering to dress myself fully before running out of the doors just as they locked, an obnoxious beeping noise coming from them.

Yuudai let out a sigh of relief and almost collapsed on the ground, holding a bundle of clothes in his arms. He was only wearing his pants.

"It wasn't kidding." I said.

"I never kid!" Monoko appeared right in front of us, "and both of you have gotten on my nerves enough this last week! You're on the last life of nine!" And with that it disappeared again.

"What...did we do?" Yuudai asked. I didn't reply, instead pulling my shirt over my head and my shoes on my feet. When I was done, I said a quick goodnight to Yuudai and headed back to my room.

As soon as my head touched the pillows I was out.

DING DONG BING BONG!

"Attention students! It is now 7am, which means it's time to get up! Happy killing days~!"

A knock on my door.

That was something I hadn't heard in a while.

I had already been up and getting ready, and opened the door right as I was pulling my jacket on.

"Good morning, Asahi." Kyung Hye stood in front of me.

"Kyung!" I stated, barely able to hide the surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"H-huh?" The Exchange Student frowned, "I'm making sure everyone's...coming to get breakfast! Should I stop?" She asked.

"Oh, that makes sense." I ran a hand through my hair, "I was just surprised you aren't hanging out with Rouko." As soon as I mentioned the Translator, Kyung froze up.

"She...won't let me." She murmured, staring at the floor.

"But you two are best friends!" I said.

"I thought so...too. But she has...not talked to me since it happened." She sighed, "no matter. We have...plenty of time, and everyone is being really...nice to me." She offered a smile, but it wasn't genuine.

"T-thanks, Kyung." I was unsure of what else to say.

Nevertheless, Kyung waved a goodbye to me and began to make her way to the cafeteria, disappearing downstairs.

I went to follow her, but something pulled me towards the rest of the bedrooms.

Maybe...maybe Rouko was in hers, and we could finally talk. Or if not Rouko, I could get to know Hisoka more.

If they let me.

I moved around the corner to see the Translator in question leaving her room, locking it behind her.

"Rouko," I gained her attention.

She turned to me, making no attempt to hide the annoyance on her face.

"What do you want? I've already said I don't want to talk." She said.

"I just-" My mind drew a blank. What was I going to talk to her about? I felt like there was so many options, but if I spoke about any of them I'd just get anger in return.

"I'm worried. You're shutting yourself off from the group." I finally said. Rouko scoffed.

"I'm not doing anything. Nobody's talked to me ever since I left Kyung, and now she's the big social butterfly. I know I'm plain, but you could at least offer to make conversation." She snapped.

"W-well...why don't you talk to people?" I ran a hand through my hair.

"You think I haven't tried? I just annoy everyone." Her tone dropped at the last sentence.

"You don't-"

"Look, even if I did make friends, they'd just find a way to make me a pushover." Rouko closed the conversation by walking past me and disappearing around the corner, leaving me no chances to reply.

The rest of that day went by in a blur, and so did the day after. Even Monoko had made less frequent appearances, leaving us mostly to our own devices. For the most part, I found myself moving around a lot, trying to take my mind off of things. I never really got enough alone time with anyone to learn more about them without an interruption.

However, on an afternoon when I found myself lying on my bed, doing nothing, a knock at my door caught me off guard.

When I opened the door, I was even more caught off guard as Hisoka Yuuto stared up at me, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"Yuuto?" I asked.

For a moment, it was silent as a scared expression crossed over the boy's face.

"D-do you want to ha-hang out?" He finally stuttered, pulling on his hoodie strings.

Huh?

He was scared about asking that?

"Uh," I ran a hand through my hair, "sure."

"G-Great." Hisoka said, and continued to stand in my doorway.

"Uhm, what do you want to...do?" I asked.

"Eh?" Hisoka's eyes went wide.

"I mean, do you want to sit and chat...or go to the library...?" I ran my hands through my hair.

"O-oh, uhm...I d-don't know." He pulled on his hoodie strings.

Confused, I tried to think of something to do, "Why don't we go to the cafeteria..?"

"Tha-That sounds good." Hisoka strode off, leaving me behind. I jogged to catch up as we reached the staircase, making a beeline for the cafeteria.

He really didn't mess around when going somewhere.

As we walked in he walked straight to where I had seen him the other day - in the corner - and sat, staring at his hands. He didn't even bother to take in the rest of the room. I sat across from him after taking a quick look around the room; it was devoid of people.

"Uhm...do you want me to get us drinks?" I asked.

"If they h-have royal milk tea." He replied.

"O-ok." I stood again and made a quick trip to the kitchen. When I returned Hisoka hadn't moved at all, but when I handed him his drink he snatched it off me, yanked the top off and gulped about half of it down in one breath.

Finally, he put the bottle back on the table and took a few deep breaths, before slowly lifting his head and staring at my nose, shoulders squared.

"H-how are you?" He asked.

He went through all that just to ask me how I was?

I couldn't get a handle on who this boy was.

"Uhm...good. You?" I replied.

"Good." He looked back at the table and let out a loud sigh of relief.

"Why..." I stopped myself.

"H-huh?" Hisoka looked up at my nose again.

"It doesn't matter." I waved a hand.

"N-no, ask me." He leaned forward, a hint of...desperation?...in his eyes.

I frowned, running a hand through my hair, "Uh, why...how come you're so...awkward?" I asked.

Hisoka blinked, then let out a high-pitched screech and pulled his hoodie strings until only his nose was poking out.

"Y-Yuuto-!" I shouted, surprised.

"I-I kn-knew this w-would happen!" A dismayed voice stuttered from inside the hoodie.

"What would happen?!" I asked.

"I c-can't! I shou-shouldn't have tried-d!" Suddenly the boy launched up from his chair and bolted out of the room, leaving me in a state of shock.

What just happened?

"You tried to make friends with the new kid." A voice suddenly called me out of my shock and I turned to see Alastor leaning against the kitchen door, swirling a cup of tea around with a spoon.

Funny. I hadn't noticed him there before.

I decided to ignore it, "Yeah. It..uhm...was surreal?" I frowned.

"Ah, I wouldn't bother with him. If he wouldn't meet us at the beginning, he's lost his chance." The Croupier shrugged.

"Huh?" I asked.

"It's simple. You can't win a bet if you never enter one in the first place. That's what my father taught me." He walked closer, still swirling that tea.

"But...what if you lose?" I asked.

Alastor abruptly stopped swirling the tea, an odd look crossing his face, "if you lose...well, there's no point to living anymore, is there?"

Lost for words, I just stared at him, confused and a little bit scared. Alastor seemed to have zoned out, but after a few seconds he came to and took a sip of his tea, finally noticing my stare.

"Some say my words are confronting. But they're the truth, aren't they?" He stated, spinning on his heel and walking away.

What did he mean by that?

Back in my room, I found myself staring at the two gift boxes filled with coins on my desk, which Monoko had 'kindly' rewrapped after I left them on the floor. A strange curiosity had come over me...I wanted to see what I could buy from the Monoshop.

Without thinking twice I grabbed the gift boxes and hurried downstairs, hiding them in my jacket.

I stared at the door to the shop for a few seconds, contemplating what I was actually doing, then pushed the door open, the bell jingling and the lights switching on.

"Weeeeeeelcome to the Monoshop~!" Monoya raised up from behind the counter like a vampire leaving its coffin, stupid blonde wig and all. It tilted its head, stared at me, then jumped in the air, "woah, a returning customer! Welcome back-" It paused. For a moment, I thought it was glitching, but it suddenly disappeared back under the register and piles of papers started flying all around the room. I could hear grunting and growling.

Finally, Monoya reappeared, looking quite disappointed for something with no expressions.

"I don't know your name!" It shouted, grabbing a Monoko plush from behind it and launching it at me. Once again, I dodged out of the way, watching it fall to the floor; 'Cuddly, compassionate mascot-!'

"Can you stop throwing things at me?" I ran my hand through my hair.

"When I get annoyed I throw things!" Monoya shouted, "now tell me your name!"

"U-uhm, Asahi Seiko. I'm the ultimate p-" I was cut off.

"I don't need your life story, just your name! Now tell me, have I shown you the secret menu?" It leaned forward on the register.

"Yeah..." I drifted off. Why was I back here again?

"Great! That would have been cat-astrophic if I told someone who didn't know about the secret menu that we had a secret menu! Anyway-" Monoya pulled said menu from behind the register and slammed it down on top, knocking over a small basket filled with various lollies; black, white, and red in colour.

"We have new additions~!" Monoya gained my attention, slamming its paw down over an image of...a Monoko eyepatch?

"For those who want to step into the shoes of their principal, buy this eyepatch for a small amount and rule the school! Or...rule it until Monoko finds you. If it does, I had nothing to do with it! Blame the tailor boy or whatever." It pointed to something else, "and this is another limited edition item! Is Monoko giving you too little information on your past lives? Well, for a price cheaper than a scratch behind the ear, you can obtain a piece of your past life~! These things are difficult to find because that damned cat hides everything so well, but I found one, and now I'm making a profit on it!" Monoya threw its paws up in the air, "that's all!"

"That's all?" I asked.

"Yuh-huh! I can't change the menu until we get low in stock of other things, so you're stuck with what's here." It leaned back, "so, are you interested in anything?"

"Uhm, What did you mean by 'a piece of my past life'?" I asked.

"I can't tell you anything until you buy it~!" Monoya sang.

"But I don't know what it is." I replied.

"I told you what it was! Do you need me to throw another plushie at you?" Monoya turned around and grabbed said cat toy, aiming it at me.

"Ah, n-no, you don't need to do that-!" I waved my hands in the air, already bracing for impact. Monoya brought its arm back, about to throw, but dropped the teddy instead.

'Hug me!'

"I'll buy it." I ran my hands through my hair.

"You will?" Monoya leaped a foot into the air, "my first sale! I was so afraid of not making one, Monoko put me on a budget and if I didn't make enough money it was going to punish me so I had to work hard but nobody ever visited the store so I couldn't make sales and Monoko doesn't allow me into the rest of the building either-" The thing continued blabbering as it disappeared under the register again, more papers flying.

After far too long, Monoya reappeared, holding a small envelope.

"Here ya go! That's fourty Monocoins!" It slammed the envelope onto the register.

"Fourty?!" I cried.

"Oiya, I gotta make a profit somehow! Now shut up and pay up!" It replied, waving the envelope tauntingly at me.

I frowned, staring at the boxes I had been holding. Was I really going to give into Monoko's wants and buy something from a dumb store it had set up?

...I wanted to remember, though.

I put the boxes down on the register and opened the first one, beginning to count out the coins.

However, I was only halfway through counting when the door burst open behind me, and Monoya yanked the secret menu from under my hands, surprisingly managing to keep the coins on the table.

"Asahi!" A voice called. I turned to see Fuyutake Ganko.

"Weeeeelcome to the monoshop~! Say, have I told you about our sec-"

"It's dinner time - people are getting worried." She said, "Geez, you can't just disappear like that."

"Interrupting me-!" Another plushie launched across the room; 'I'm Monoko!'

"Ah, sorry." I ran a hand through my hair, a little embarrassed.

"What are you doing in here-" The Graffiti Artist noticed the coins, "anyway..." She turned to me, a look of shocked disappointment on her face.

"It's not what it looks like!" I waved my hands in front of my face.

"So," Fuyutake walked into the room, "you aren't buying something from ripoff Monoko?"

"Oiya, I'm no ripoff!" Monoya shouted.

"W-well..." I ran my hand through my hair.

Fuyutake shook her head, "I'm disappointed, Asahi. If you were going to buy picante beef ramen, you could have at least told me so we could share."

I paused.

"Waaaah! An outsider knows about the secret menu! I'm compromised!" Monoya disappeared behind the register, dropping the envelope, and a moment later the lights switched off.

"E-eh?!" I shouted.

"I can't see anything..." Fuyutake tried to move but slammed into something and let out an anguished cry.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Dammit, this stupid room is too small." Was all the response I got. Worried, but knowing I had to get something important, I reached for the register to try and find the envelope.

Luckily, it was the only piece of paper on the register, but I knocked over a box of coins on my way, spilling them all over the floor. I turned around and started walking in a straight line out of the room, but was almost immediately stopped by the edge of a table. I heard some things fall to the floor.

"Aw man, what if we have to sleep in here? I can't find the door." Fuyutake sighed.

"It's a small room, we can't get that lost." I turned in a random direction and started walking until, once again, I ran into something.

This continued for several minutes until a delighted shout came from somewhere near me, "I found it!" I heard the turning of a doorknob and then a door opened, revealing a glowing...red?...light.

"Wait..." Fuyutake's silhouette froze.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to move towards it. She didn't speak, but my eyes had begun to adjust to the dim lighting, making it easier to move. I also realised that Fuyutake wasn't standing at the door to the hallway, but rather a door behind the register. Curious, I made my way over to see what had stopped her in her tracks, and paused as well.

It was some kind of lighting grid, but in the centre, on a shiny plaque, were the words For The Formers.

Underneath were a multitude of scratch marks, possibly removing somebody's name.

"D-does this count as breaking rules?" I asked.

"It suuuuure does~!" The lights suddenly switched back on fully, revealing the mess we had made of the store and Monoko, who was standing at the far end of the register. It looked to Fuyutake, red eye shining, and ran the length of the table before leaping into the air, kicking the door back closed before falling, quite ungracefully, on the floor.

"What do you think you kiddos are doing sneaking around the Mono-Shop?!" It shouted, appearing back on the register.

"E-eh?" I gasped.

"We weren't sneaking around!" Fuyutake replied.

"How come you were in the dark?" Monoko asked.

"Because Monoya shut the lights off on us!" The Graffiti Artist pointed to behind the register.

"Whaaaaaat~?" Monoya slowly rose up, peering around at everyone innocently, "I did no such thing, boss~!"

"Liar!" Fuyutake said.

"Me? Lying~? I would never!" Monoya waved a paw airily, resting its chin on its other one.

"Oiya, I don't know who to believe!" Monoko threw its paws up in the air, "but I've got a hankering for bloodshed, and Miss Graffiti Artist broke the rules!"

"You can't kill her!" I shouted.

"What the fuck?" Fuyutake shouted at the same time.

"Woah, you're both really adamant!" Monoko turned to Monoya, "that means you must be lying!"

"It's because she almost found out about the secret menu!" Monoya switched almost immediately, becoming accusatory.

"But now they know something even more secret!" Monoko shouted.

"Oiya, I didn't know they'd be that dumb!" Monoya argued.

"Oiya, you have to treat everyone like they're dumb!" Monoko waved its paws.

"Oiya, they're meant to be smart, though!"

"Oiya, brain smart and talent smart are two different things!"

"Oiya, you can't blame me!"

As the two fought, Fuyutake and I made eye contact and silently agreed. We both made our slow way out of the room, dodging all the stuff on the floor, and closed the door silently behind us. Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, though, the Graffiti Artist grabbed my hand and started pulling me away.

"We need to go where the others are." She said, "they'll defend us."

"Wait, you mean..."

"Asahi," Fuyutake turned to me, "I think I almost got executed."

Surprisingly, Monoko didn't follow us.

We went to the library, grabbed books and sat down, hearts racing, hyper-focused on what was happening around us.

When an hour had passed and Monoko hadn't shown up, we both began to relax more.

Fuyutake our her book down and stretched, groaning annoyedly.

"Ah man, I hate being here." She sighed, throwing her arms behind her head, "almost dying isn't really the mood of the week."

"That's..." I paused, not really knowing how to finish.

"Oh, shit!" Fuyutake suddenly leaped up, clapping her hands over her mouth, "I'm sorry, that wasn't-I mean, I didn't-" She groaned, throwing her head back.

"What?" I asked.

The Graffiti Artist cringed, "I didn't mean to go all casual talk on you. I was really trying to sound somewhat professional here."

"I-I don't really care." I ran a hand through my hair, "in fact, I didn't even notice." I said.

"Yeah, but we're kinda in the same boat. I really don't want to do that in front of, like, Tamotsu or Aimi. Those two are really well-spoken." Fuyutake scratched her head.

"The same boat..?" I asked.

"Well, when people think of graffiti, they usually think of parkour too, yeah? It's a weird connection, but it's made. Maybe it's 'cause we both do 'illegal' things." She put her hands up in air quotes.

"I never made the connection..." I drifted off.

There was a short, awkward silence between us.

"I've never seen you do parkour before." Fuyutake suddenly said.

"I've never seen you graffiti before." I replied.

We looked at each other.

Fuyutake said nothing.

I couldn't think of anything to say.

Once again, an awkward silence passed.

"I feel like I don't know much about you." I said.

"Yeah." She didn't elaborate.

"So...how come you're the Ultimate Graffiti Artist?" I asked.

"Oh, well...it's a long story. Too long for now." Fuyutake replied.

"Oh." I ran my hand through my hair, "well, what about your family? Or the friends you mentioned?"

"Why are you so interested in my past?" She bristled, sitting up straighter. I faltered.

"Ah, well, I just thought that we should get to know more about each other..." I ran my hand through my hair.

"Trust me, there's not much to know. I have two parents, a dog, and I'm an Ultimate. There." She stated.

"O-oh." I said.

"Were you expecting something more?" She asked, annoyed now.

"W-well, I like learning more about people...especially in this situation."

A pause.

"I suppose I could tell you some more." Fuyutake's tone softened, "to tell you the truth, my parents weren't the best."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"They...didn't like each other. At all. I don't know why they stayed with each other. It just made all of us sad." She rubbed her hand up and down her arm, looking at the floor, "they wanted me to be the best I could, but..." She paused, "let's just say 'graffiti artist' wasn't the 'best' they wanted."

"Fuyutake, I'm-"

"Don't give me condolences. I don't need them. It isn't their fault, and it wasn't mine either. They're...too invested in themselves." Fuyutake sighed, "not the only ones..."

"I-that sucks." I said, before cringing. It sounded so disingenuous.

"Sometimes it does." She laughed a little, "but it's fine. Really. I have my art, and that's all that matters." She smiled. A genuine one. "Speaking of, I think I'm going to go do that. Asahi, I'll see you later." She stood up, walking to the door. As she opened it, she turned back to me, "by the way, you can call me Fuyu. It's what my friends say."

She shut the door softly behind her.

Ding Dong Bing Bong!

"Attention students! Good murderful morning~! It's 7am, which means time to get up!"

My morning routine was set now. It was...unnerving, but having that period of time in the morning where I had control calmed me.

I would roll around in bed for a while, finally get up, get dressed, brush my teeth and hair, and walk to the cafeteria. It seemed my routine had synced with Kioko and Michi's, too, because I met up with them when I left my room.

Well, I met up with Kioko. Michi...Michi ignored us.

However, seeing him in the mornings had solved the mystery of how he got down the stairs.

It was ungracefully, including a lot of swearing and a death grip on the handrail.

This morning in particular, though, Michi was missing. Only Kioko and I went to the cafeteria, but when we walked in it was surprisingly empty. Only five people were inside; Fuyutake, Rouko, Sora, Alastor and Hisoka.

Slowly, most of the others arrived. As usual, however, a few were either late or not coming to breakfast.

"Ah, aren't I on breakfast duty this morning?" Aimi asked, "I must apologise for being so late." She hurried to the kitchen, but right as she was about to open the door, Tamotsu walked out with two steaming plates of food.

And so breakfast began.

It was full of the usual banter.

When everyone was done, Rouko offered to clean up, and Kyung went with her.

"So, what are you doing today, Asahi?" Fuyutake asked.

"Oh, uhm..." I ran a hand through my hair, "nothing mu-"

"Helping me with the play!" Yuudai interrupted.

"Eh?" I asked.

"He's going to help me with the play! We have to start plotting some scenes onstage." Yuudai grinned.

"Oh, cool! Kioko and I are going to the onsen later." Fuyutake replied.

"What?! I wanted to go to the onsen!" Seiichi whined.

"Race you." Fuyutake stood and grabbed Kioko's hand, running out of the cafeteria doors before Seiichi could even get out of his seat.

"Hey!" He shouted, chasing after them.

"What's with those two and the onsen?" Yuudai cleaned his glasses.

"Who knows?" I asked.

"It's just hot water." Yuudai put his glasses back on.

"Hot water with minerals." I replied.

"Minerals? What a revelation." Yuudai mocked.

Right at that moment, though, an ear-piercing scream echoed through the halls.

Immediately I jumped to my feet, looking to the doors.

"What was that?!" Sora shouted, alarmed.

"It was Kioko's voice!" Aimi gasped.

"D-do we...go a-and find out?" Hisoka spoke up softly.

"I'm going to check." Sora left the room, leaving us all in stunned silence.

Thirty tense seconds later, everyone heard the sound none of us ever wanted to again.

Ding Dong Bing Bong!

"Oh, how exciting~! Another body has been discovered! Everyone, please meet at the onsen on the third floor! Ahem, I shall be down there shortly to fill you in! Monoko out."

Silence.

The familiar sensation of utter fear intruded upon us. We were frozen.

"Dead...?" A voice, I didn't know who's, whispered.

And then there was action.

Seiichi bolted for the door, slamming it open. With a wild glance behind him, he disappeared down the hall, footsteps barely fading before multitudes of others began, all following him out of the door.

I hadn't even realised I was running until I was standing in front of the doors to the onsen amongst the others, frantic murmuring mixed with absolute silence.

We all watched the door.

It looked normal.

Like nothing happened.

But...

Sora suddenly stormed out of the door, causing a few to jump, "It's Rei."

"Thaaaaats right! Rei Amaterasu, your dearly beloved Exorcist, has been brutally, horrifically, heartlessly, murdered! Looks like it's investigation time~!" Monoko appeared in front of the door, holding the Monoko File in one paw, red eye shining.

"Stupid cat." Sora snatched the Monoko File off of it.

"Oiya! That's for me to hand out!" Monoko grabbed the Monoko File back, kicking Sora in the shin for good measure. The Snowboarder looked unimpressed. "Anyway, I have some rules to explain since this murder is a bit different than usual!"

"Different? How so?" Aimi asked.

"Because only the girls are allowed inside!" Monoko shouted.

"What?! That's completely unfair!" I cried.

"Woah! Mister Parkour Expert finally stood up for something!" Monoko shouted, "that means you get the Monoko File~!" It shoved the thing into my hands.

"Hey! I wanted the File!" Michi cried from behind me, "Seiko always gets it!"

"Now's not the time to be fucking around!" Sora shouted.

"Aaaanyway, because the murder happened in a girl's only area, I was going to make it so only the girls could go inside, buuuut..." Monoko lifted a paw to its chin, "that would make the game unfair~! So I'm unlocking the doors! Anyone can go in any door!" And with that, it disappeared.

We all stood there for a second, unsure of what to do.

"Well, what are you all waiting for? Let's go inside and investigate." Alastor sighed, pushing open the door to the boys side.

"Hang on a minute!" Sora pushed him back, "Kioko and Fuyutake are still inside."

"So?" Alastor asked.

"Let them get changed first!" Sora said.

Alastor sighed, "this is lessening our investigation time."

"Wait here." Sora disappeared inside, and came out a few minutes later, "you can go in now."

"Finally." Alastor stepped back inside.

Fear kept my feet on the spot, unwilling to move.

I didn't want to see what was inside.

But...I had to, didn't I?

I looked around, almost everyone else had gone inside already. Only Tamotsu stayed, staring at the wall blankly.

"Hey, Tamotsu..." I started.

"She is not gone." He stated.

"Eh?" I asked.

"She cannot be. Such a kind soul would not be quashed so young."

"A...kind soul?"

"But...Mr. Hikou was also killed undeservedly..." Tamotsu frowned, pressing a hand to his chin. After what felt like much too long, he spoke again.

"I can feel her spirit." He smiled softly, "the lessons she taught me were real, after all."

"Hey, Asahi? We need you inside." Seiichi poked his head out of the door, "Tamotsu, what are you doing out here?"

"Nothing in particular. I apologise for taking up Mr. Seiko's time...he was helping me." The Cello Player said calmly, back to his usual composure.

"Helping you?" Seiichi asked.

"I must admit, there being another killing has caught me off guard. I simply needed a moment to collect my thoughts." He replied.

"Oh...okay." Seiichi frowned, "we need you inside now, though. Someone needs to do the autopsy."

"...Right." Tamotsu walked past Seiichi and I, disappearing into the onsen.

"Come on, Asahi. Staring into space isn't helping."

"Huh? Oh, sure." I followed the Tailor into the main onsen area, and finally set eyes on the body of Rei Amaterasu.

Her limp body lay half-in, half-out of the onsen, her wrists and ankles bound, her dark green hair floating in the pool's water, shielding her face from view.

My stomach dropped.

I had expected this.

Of course I had expected this.

But...it didn't make it any less confronting. Another person...another friend was gone.

I felt an emptiness in my heart as I saw it, which only grew when I watched Tamotsu, with seemingly no regard for his clothing, wading straight into the water and gently picking up the Exorcist's body. He pulled himself, then Rei out, placing her head in his lap. Slowly, he brushed the hair from her face, and for a short time there was silence.

He murmured something.

"Whadidya say?" Michi Katsu asked, breaking the fragile atmosphere. Everyone glared at the Speed Skater, but the boy's words seemed to have gotten through to the Cello Player, because Tamotsu put her gently on the ground and stood up.

"Mr. Seiko, turn the Monoko File on. We have spent too much time dawdling." He stated firmly.

A little shocked by the sudden change, I fumbled for the tablet, finally turning it on.

"The victim is Rei Amaterasu, the Ultimate Exorcist." I rushed, "she was killed in the Onsen on the third floor. She was found at 8:47am this morning."

"No injuries this time?" Sora asked.

"Uhm..." I looked at the file again, "there's nothing here."

"Then that's useless!" The Snowboarder threw her hands up, annoyed.

"Actually, it's pretty helpful." Seiichi spoke up, "I was trying to get into the onsen last night at seven twenty, but it said someone was already inside."

"But...does a body count as a person?" Aimi asked.

"How come you know the exact time you were there?" Alastor accused.

"The ID readers have the time on them." Seiichi replied.

"Uhm..." We all turned to see Hisoka Yuuto, putting his hand up, "I-I think Minori m-makes a good point."

"Eh?" I asked.

"Who let that fucker speak?" Michi growled.

"Shut up." Sora said.

Hisoka pulled his hoodie strings tighter around his face, voice lowering.

"D-does a body c-c-count as a p-per-person." He stumbled over his words.

"Is this a question for Monoko?" The cat appeared suddenly, dropping from the ceiling and into the onsen.

A few bubbles rose to the surface, and then the cat reappeared on the edge of the pool, twitching oddly, steam coming out of its nose and ears.

"B-b-b-b-bo-o-odi-es d-d-d-don't c-count a-a-s p-p-p-p-" suddenly, a loud popping noise came from somewhere inside the cat's body and its eyes went dull. It keeled forwards, face planting into the floor. A small flame shot out of its back, soon growing into a bigger one, and another pop sound sent a few flames flying around it. Hurriedly, everyone backed up, watching the thing burn.

DING DONG BING BONG!

"Aaaaaaatention students! A body has been discovered!" Suddenly, another Monoko appeared in front of the burning one, kicking it into the onsen, "it was me!"

"What the fuck is going on?!" Sora shouted.

"A mere technical error, Miss Snowboarder. Now stop shouting! These new ears are tender, and soft. Like a baby German shepherd." The cat pretended to lick its paw and rub it over its broken-off ear.

"Uhm...But you're a cat." Yuudai pointed out.

"Eh?" Monoko looked down at its paws, and leaped in the air, "waaaaah, I am! How did this happen?!"

"You've always been a cat." Yuudai replied.

"Waaaaah!" Monoko disappeared.

"I fucking hate this place!" Sora shouted after a moment. She stormed out of the room, shaking her head.

It was silent.

"Ah, well, considering what Monoko said before it...perished...bodies don't count as people. Which means somebody must have been in the onsen for some time after Rei Amaterasu's death." Aimi said.

"With that knowledge, I say we begin investigating. We've wasted enough time here already." Alastor fiddled with his shirt cuff uninterestedly.

"Should we split as before?" Aimi asked.

"That sounds like the best plan of action." Alastor said.

"Then I will see you all when the investigation ends." Aimi walked over to Yuudai and gestured for him to follow as they left the room. Everyone else split up fairly quickly, and suddenly the room was almost empty.

Before I did anything else, I wrote both Seiichi and Monoko's words in the notes tab of my E-Pad.

"Asahi..." I looked up to see Kioko, "are we working together again?"

"Uh...yeah." I ran a hand through my hair.

"Good. I think we should ask about alibis." Kioko replied, "come on." She grabbed my hand and began to pull me out of the onsen.

"Ah, wait! What about Tamotsu?" I asked.

"He looks busy. We can ask him after everyone else." Kioko replied.

"U-uhm...okay." I glanced behind me, but as the Board Gamer said, he was paying us no attention.

Outside of the onsen, I felt fresh, cool air fill my lungs, and took a deep breath.

The moment didn't last long, though, as the distinct sound of a pair of rollerblades echoed through the hall, coming our way. I fought the urge to groan out loud as I looked over to see Michi Katsu racing down the hallway, a bored-looking Alastor Yashin following a few metres behind.

"Asahi Seiko." Michi skidded to a stop in front of us, "I have a testimony!"

"I hope this one isn't as far-fetched as your last." Alastor sighed as he walked up.

"Far-fetched? Ha! You think Michi Katsu, award-winning speed skater, would make up a testimony?!" Michi snorted angrily, "I have never told a lie in my fuckin' life!"

"'I'll fight anyone'." Kioko piped up, pitching her voice up to mock the Speed Skater.

"What the fuck's the nerd doing here?" Michi asked.

"Katsu, she's on testimonies as well." Alastor said.

"Yeah! So you better tell us who your alibis are!" Kioko jabbed a finger into his chest.

"Don't fuckin' touch me!" Michi skated backwards a bit. Kioko poked her tongue out at him and crossed her arms.

"S-so Katsu...what's your alibi?" I asked.

"I was practising in my talent room." Michi puffed out his chest, "but when I went outside, I saw the murderer run past! They were covered in blood!"

"There is no blood on Rei's body. Are you sure?" Alastor asked.

"Yep! She was stone cold stabbed! And you wanna know who it was?" Michi asked.

"Sure." I sighed, making a few dot points in my notes.

"Rouko Soba!" Michi cried.

"And we've found Katsu's Most Hated Person of the Week." Alastor muttered.

"Huh? Whadidyasay?" Michi spat.

"Did anything else happen?" I asked, interrupting the two.

"Fuckin' yeah! I went after Rouko because I knew I had to restrain her, but she realised I was there, turned around, and threw a knife at me! I dodged out of the way but she had another knife! And another! I dodged through them all, but she ran to her room before I could catch her! I was about to bash the door open but Monoko told me not to!" Michi took a deep breath, hands on his hips proudly.

"That sounds stupid." Kioko stated.

Michi faltered, a look of panic crossing his face for a split second.

But then he pulled himself back together.

"If you don't believe me, then don't! But I'm not fuckin' responsible when you kill us all!" Without a pause, he sped off down the hall.

"There goes my partner." Alastor sighed.

"I hate him. He's mean." Kioko harrumphed.

"Yes, well." Alastor smiled at us, "luckily, I have a real alibi for yesterday. I arrived at breakfast promptly, at 8:10am. It was my day to help Tamotsu cook, so that's exactly what I did. After breakfast, I joined Aimi and we spoke until lunch time. I made myself lunch, and then went to the library, where I saw Tamotsu and Rei. At around four o'clock, I noticed Rei leave the library on her own. That was the last time I saw her. When I asked Tamotsu about it, he said she was going to have a nap in her room.

"Finally, both Tamotsu and I left at six o'clock to make dinner, but as you already know, Rouko was making it for us. After dinner, I went to my room and fell asleep quite quickly." He explained.

"Did you notice anything suspicious?" I asked.

"No, unfortunately not." Alastor said, "But I will be investigating the hallways if you need me for anything." He walked away.

"Now we have a timeline, right?" Kioko asked.

"Uh, yeah. I guess so." I ran a hand through my hair.

"Now we can see who's lying." She said.

I felt a pang of pain in my chest.

Once again, we were going to have to accuse another friend.

But I couldn't think about that yet. We had to get everyone's testimonies.

If not...I didn't want to think about it.

I shook my head, and looked up again to see Kioko had wandered off towards the centre square. I rushed over to join her, but as soon as I arrived, I noticed Seiichi coming up to us, on his own.

"Hey guys." Unlike his usual self, he was more reserved. He spoke quietly, and kept tugging on the measuring tape around his neck.

"Hi! Do you have a testimony?" Kioko asked.

"Uhm...Yeah." He looked up at us, "I was with Fuyutake for most of the day. She wanted to have her clothes fitted, and then she wanted to watch me tailor them. It was really difficult for me to concentrate with her talking, so I ended up getting an early lunch. When I got back to my talent room, she was gone, so I don't have an alibi until seven o'clock, when I went to the onsen and couldn't get in. I stayed there for about ten minutes, hoping whoever was inside would leave, and then gave up and went to the cafeteria."

"Did you see who was inside the onsen?" I asked.

"No, but I did witness something strange. The screen usually tells you how many people are inside. Not who, or what gender, but how many. When I went there, it said there were two people inside." Seiichi explained.

"But didn't Monoko say a body doesn't count as a person?" Kioko tilted her head.

"Yeah." Seiichi frowned, "it did, didn't it?"

"So the victim was still alive at seven o'clock..." I wrote everything down, "this is so much information."

"Is that a good thing?" Seiichi asked.

"Uhm...yeah, it is. If we get everyone's alibis, then it should be easier to find the culprit." I ran a hand through my hair.

"Have you found any evidence, though?" Seiichi asked.

"Oh, uhm...not really." I frowned.

"Aw man." Kioko deflated.

Seiichi looked between the both of us, surprised.

"Well, if you need help, I don't have a partner, so..." He trailed off.

"Woah, what a good idea!" Kioko said, "we'll do testimonies, and you can find evidence!"

And so the duo became a trio.

Our next stop was the storage room, where quite a few people were wandering.

"Follow me." Seiichi took us to a secluded corner of the room, pointing to one of the shelves, "do you notice anything strange?"

The shelf had a collection of random and odd things on it, but as much as I searched, I couldn't find what the Tailor seemed to be pointing at.

"Uhm...what is it?" I ran a hand through my hair. Seiichi frowned, looked between Kioko and I, and sighed, making his way to the shelf.

He began climbing the shelves.

"Kyaaah, Seiichi!" Kioko shouted.

"I've done it before." The Tailor replied nonchalantly. He reached the shelf he needed and, with a grunt, lifted himself onto it until he was sitting down. He searched around for a moment, before his eyes brightened and he grabbed something, showing it to us.

"Rope?" Kioko asked.

"Yeah. According to the packet...it's pol...propl...proplene!" He called triumphantly.

"Do you mean polypropylene?" I asked.

"Uhm..." He inspected the packet, then nodded, "yep."

"But why's that in here? That stuff's usually used for safety nets." I ran a hand through my hair, "we can't use that here."

"Well, I noticed something earlier. When Tamotsu took Rei's body out, I saw something colourful around her ankles. It reminded me of this stuff." He looked at it, then at the floor.

"If it was so far up there, how come you knew about it?" Kioko puffed her cheeks out.

"I was tailoring some clothes yesterday and needed elastic. Monoko told me there was some in the storage room, so I went to find it. I thought I could hear someone rummaging around somewhere, so I called out to them, but whoever it was went silent. When I tried to find them, a packet of these was lying on the floor in front of the shelf." He explained distractedly. He was now tearing open the packaging.

"Did you see who it was?" Kioko asked.

"Uhm...no. I think they left while I was looking for what I needed." Seiichi shrugged.

The Board Gamer and I shared a look, and I put his testimony into my notes. As that happened, I also got a pop-up from the evidence tab; the rope had been added.

"I was wondering who's voices I heard." Someone said from behind us. I turned to see Aimi, a forlorn-looking Yuudai trailing behind.

"Hi, Aimi." I offered a meagre smile, then looked at the Theatre Manager, "Yuudai, what's wrong?"

"Ah, I'm afraid he hasn't been speaking much. Something has upset him greatly." Aimi pressed a hand to her cheek.

"Were you close with Rei?" Kioko asked.

"I don't think it matters whether we were close or not." I ran a hand through my hair.

"No," Yuudai sighed, "I mean, Rei was fun, but I didn't know her that well. I'm more upset about dad."

"'Dad'?" Aimi frowned.

"Rei and him were pretty close...I hope he doesn't do anything brash in the trial." The Theatre Manager took his glasses off and began cleaning them.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Kioko said, "he's always fine!"

"Yeah..." Yuudai looked up at us, "anyway, you guys want testimonies, don't you?"

Kioko nodded, "where were you yesterday?"

"I spent most of the day in my talent room, with Kyung. She was really interested in learning about my talent, so we blocked some scenes from my play and wrote some more of it together. In fact, we were so distracted that we forgot to have lunch. By the time we realised, it was already four o'clock, but we were starving so we decided to get food at the cafeteria. We ran into Rei on the stairs; she said she was going to have a nap. We were in the cafeteria until dinner time." He explained.

"Did you notice anything suspicious?" I asked.

"Not really...I saw Rouko going into the kitchen to make dinner. You might have to ask Kyung, since she was sitting closer, but Rouko's hair looked a bit damp. I said hi, but she didn't respond." The theatre manager shrugged.

"Damp hair..." I quickly noted it down.

"The rest of her was dry, though." Yuudai hurriedly said, "I think she might have had a shower or something."

"Thanks, Yuudai." I said.

I turned to Aimi next, ready to ask her, but the Harajuku Fashionista was looking in shocked curiosity at something happening behind us.

Immediately, I remembered who we had left behind, and what they were capable of doing.

The first day I had met him leaped back into mind, and I immediately spun around, almost dropping the E-Pad in preparation to have to save the Tailor's life again.

But, something different had happened.

It seemed Seiichi Shigeru had actually used his head for something other than tailoring, and was using the rope to somewhat absail down the shelving. He would stop on one shelf, prepare his grip, and jump to the next shelf.

"Uhm...S-Seiichi, what are you doing?" I called.

"Concen...trating..." The Tailor grunted, going down another level.

"Huh." I ran a hand through my hair, a mix of worry and admiration going through my head. He really wasn't afraid to take stupid risks.

After a short while, he finally reached the ground.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Seiichi rolled his shoulders, fixed his blazer and straightened his tie.

"That was fun." He said.

"A-are you hurt?" For once, even Kioko was lost for words.

"Hmmm..." Seiichi gave himself a once-over, "no. But I think I burnt my hands a little." He frowned, showing us his palms.

They were, indeed, bright red.

"You're weird." Kioko said.

"No I'm not!" Seiichi crossed his arms, "Did you get all the testimonies?"

"Oh, right! I haven't got Aimi's yet." I turned back around to where the Harajuku Fashionista had been, but both her and Yuudai had disappeared.

"A-Aimi?" I called.

No response.

"Aw man." Kioko sighed, "but we need everyone's testimonies."

"Especially hers. She was late for dinner last night, remember?" I asked.

"That's even worse!" Kioko cried, "now we have a suspect, but I didn't want her to be them!"

We searched around the storage room a little bit longer, but after seeing nothing else of interest, Seiichi suggested we go to the dorms - "if she was going for a nap, maybe her room has clues!"

So that's where we headed.

We didn't get far, however, before Fuyutake interrupted us.

"I think I have information." She said, "surprisingly, Yuuto helped."

She gestured behind her, and after a fair few seconds, the edge of a hoodie peered around the Graffiti Artist and Hisoka Yuuto gave a small wave, before quickly ducking back again.

"What is it?" Kioko asked, leaning forward in anticipation.

"Well, Yuuto and I were searching around the area outside the onsen, and some of the rooms nearby, and he found a piece of paper at the bottom of one of the bins." She pulled something out of one of her pockets and handed it to us.

My E-Pad jingled.

Frowning, I unfolded it, and we all crowded around to see what it said.

But...it didn't 'say' anything.

Instead, written in scrawling, shaky letters, were the words

I'm Sorry

"Is this the culprit's handwriting...?" Seiichi asked.

"We don't know, but it seems pretty important." Fuyutake said.

Kioko nodded.

I re-folded the paper and handed it back to the Graffiti Artist, "by the way, do you have any alibis?" I asked.

She tilted her head, "I spent the morning with Seiichi, but he left for an early lunch so I went to my talent room until dinner." She frowned, "I guess that doesn't give me much of an alibi. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful."

"It's fine!" Kioko grinned.

"Thanks." I wrote everything down.

"What about Yuuto?" Seiichi asked.

"Eh?!" A surprised squeak came from behind Fuyutake.

"Seiichi's right. The more accounts we get, the easier it is for us." I explained.

There was silence as we all watched the space behind the Graffiti Artist intently.

"I-I-I don't h-have an alib-alibi." A hoodie stepped out.

Hisoka had pulled his hood so tightly around his face this time that you couldn't even see his nose.

"Did you do anything yesterday?" I asked.

"U-uhm..." He paused, "I w-was in the cafeteria-a."

"Woah, I didn't even realise you were there when I went!" Kioko gasped.

"He usually sits in a corner, so it isn't that unusual..." I frowned, "Did you see anything suspicious?"

"I saw...I s-saw Aimi walk in b-before everyone h-h-had lunch. She look-ed w-worried." He murmured.

"Thanks, Hisoka." I said, "that was actually really helpful."

"R-really?" The boy asked. He unsinched his hoodie enough for us to see one of his eyes.

"Yeah." I offered a kind smile. He looked shocked, but I could see a smile forming in his eyes.

"Thanks." He whispered.

Finally, we reached the dorm rooms. Surprisingly, Rei's was wide open, and I could hear a couple of voices coming from inside.

Kioko, Seiichi and I walked up to the door and the Tailor knocked on it lightly.

"Helloooo?" He called.

"Seiichi?" Kyung Hye poked her head out of the room, "oh, there's three...of you!"

"Do you mind if we come in?" I asked.

"That's...fine! We have some...evidence to...share, anyway." She said.

"'We'?" Kioko asked as she walked in.

"Mmhmm. Rouko and I are...paired to each other." Kyung explained.

"Eh?" I looked in the room, and, to my surprise, I saw the Translator in question, going through one of the drawers in Rei's desk. She looked up at our speaking, and a soft smile travelled over her features.

"Hello." She said quietly.

"Hi!" Kioko strode over, starting up a conversation. Seiichi immediately went to Rei's cupboard and began to rifle through her clothes.

Confused, but deciding to ignore him, I walked over to Kyung.

"Have you found anything?" I asked her.

Looking around, I noticed Rei's room looked exactly the same as mine.

"This...may not be helpful, but...there is a used pencil on this desk." She picked up the object and handed it to me.

It was a simple lead pencil, engraved with the letter R. at the top. There wasn't anything special about it. But, like Kyung had said, it did look used. Whether this was evidence or not, I heard my E-Pad register it.

"Rei could have written something with this." I said.

"That's what I was...thinking. But...there is no paper...or notepads...in this room." Kyung said.

Frowning, I looked around.

The bin was empty, the desk was clear, and, when I looked through the drawers, there was no sign of any paper nearby.

"Maybe she took her notepad with her..?" I asked.

"Possibly." Kyung frowned, "we...haven't checked...anywhere else yet."

"Have you found anything else?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, we have not." The Exchange Student said, "the room...is immaculate."

Something clicked in my head, "then that means there was no struggle here."

"What...do you mean?" Kyung asked.

"Well, taking into account the time frame, and everyone's alibis, we had an equal chance of Rei being forcibly taken to the onsen. But, since there's no evidence, that means she most likely went there of her own free will." I explained.

Kyung stared at me, completely confused.

"I...think that I...understand." She finally said.

"Ah, sorry." I ran a hand through my hair, "was that too complicated?"

"No! It was...perfect. I can...learn more better...now." She nodded firmly.

Ignoring the small mistake, I switched subjects, "since I have you here, can I get your alibi for yesterday?" I asked.

"Yes...definitely." Kyung nodded, "I did not see...anything suspicious, though. I was with Yuudai...in his talent room...all day. After dinner...I was with Rouko...in her room...until bedtime." She explained.

"Did I hear my name?" Rouko walked over to us, "what were you talking about?"

"My alibi." Kyung responded.

"Oh, then I should give mine too, right?" She asked.

"Uh, sure." I said.

The Translator nodded, "I was originally going to make breakfast for Kyung, but Tamotsu and Alastor woke up before me, so I couldn't. But after everyone cleaned up, I started preparing what I'd need for dinner in the kitchen. When I finished, it was lunch, so I made myself some and ate it in the kitchen. Then I went to the library for a few hours until I had to make dinner. After dinner, I spent time with Kyung until night time." She smiled at us.

"Did you notice anything suspicious?" I asked.

"Hmmm," Rouko tilted her head, "I saw Aimi walk into the kitchen, but as soon as she noticed I was there she walked back out again really quickly. I think she was planning something."

"Aw man, Aimi keeps getting more suspicious." Kioko sighed.

"I wonder what she was doing?" I asked.

After a quick goodbye to Rouko and Kyung, we decided to go back to the onsen. We still didn't have any information about Rei's body, and we didn't have Tamotsu's testimony. But it seemed something else was on our minds.

"Was...Rouko acting strange?" Seiichi asked.

"Eh? How?" Kioko frowned.

"Well, I noticed that when you were talking to her, Asahi, she kept scratching her arm." Seiichi shrugged, "I don't know what that means."

"Hmm," Kioko put her finger on her chin, "Papa told me that sometimes fidgeting is a sign of lying...but maybe she just had an itchy arm." The Board Gamer shrugged contentedly.

"I don't think we can take any answers for granted just yet." I frowned.

"Woah, you're like a real-life detective now!" Kioko said.

"U-uhm..." I ran my hand through my hair, "I just...don't want anyone else getting hurt."

"Yeah, but Kioko's right. It's almost like you've had experience in this field before." Seiichi said.

"Eh?" I stopped, surprised, "but I'm just asking questions. Seiichi, you found evidence."

"I guess so." Seiichi tugged on the measuring tape.

"Oh, and it was helpful evidence, too!" Kioko grinned.

Seiichi laughed awkwardly, "I-it was nothing - anyway, we're at the onsen."

I looked over and suddenly felt an overwhelming sadness come over me as I stared at the entrance.

This was where it happened.

The mood from earlier was gone.

"S-so, with that...I think I'm gonna go." Seiichi was pale.

"Wait, but weren't you-" Kioko stopped herself. The Tailor grimaced, gripped his stomach, and walked away as quickly as possible.

I felt like running away as well, but my brain was telling me that we had to collect evidence. After all, if we didn't know anything about the crime scene, how would we solve the crime?

So I took a deep breath, swallowed heavily, and began pushing the door open to the men's side.

"Asahi, wait." Kioko frowned, "wouldn't it be smarter to go through the women's side?"

"E-eh? How come?" I asked.

"Because that's where Rei was killed." She said.

Surprised at the bluntness, I was lost for words for a moment, "b-but I'm not allowed in there."

"Monoko said it doesn't matter." Kioko grabbed my wrist and pulled me over to the women's door, "come on."

She pushed it open, and pulled me inside behind her. I was terrified that an alarm would go off, or Monoko would suddenly appear to execute me, but to my relief nothing of the sort happened.

The relief was short-lived, though, as without me even realising what had happened, I felt a hand grab my face, covering my eyes.

"Get out!" A voice shouted.

"Gyaaaaagh!" I shrieked.

"Kyaaaaah, wait!" Kioko cried.

"I ain't waiting for shit! What's he doing in here?!"

Ah. I knew that voice.

"We were looking for evidence!" Kioko shouted.

"I can't believe you let a fanboy in here!" Sora Yukiko said, but she loosened her grip on my face.

"It's for the investigation!" Kioko defended.

"I can't...see..." I tried to pry the Snowboarder's hand away but it didn't work.

"Can you let him go now?" The Board Gamer asked.

There was silence, and then, begrudgingly, Sora's hand disappeared and I could see again.

"Asahi, are you okay?" Kioko ran over to me, and after giving me the once over, she looked relieved to find nothing wrong.

"W-we should start investigating." I ran a hand through my hair, and looked around the changing room, trying to ignore Sora's glare. I really didn't want to get into a fight right now.

It was similar to the boy's side, except the noren covering the entrance to the baths was red instead of blue.

But, there were a couple of things that seemed...off.

Kioko noticed it as well, because she pointed to something at the end of the room.

"Was that stool always there?" She asked.

The stool in question lay overturned against a locker, and, as I moved closer to it, I noticed that one of the legs seemed to be bent at an odd angle.

I kneeled down and picked it up.

"What are you doing?!" Sora shouted, and in a half-second the Snowboarder had appeared next to me and slapped the stool out of my hands.

"Finding...evidence?" I asked.

"You have to leave things as they are! Do you know nothing about crime scene investigation?" She asked exasperatedly.

"One of the legs was bent; I was checking to see-"

"I already have that evidence. Just ask me!" Sora sighed.

She seemed...stressed.

"W-well, what have you got?" I asked, running a hand through my hair.

"Lots." The Snowboarder pulled her E-Pad out of a pocket and switched it on. After a few taps, she seemed to have found what she wanted, because she turned the pad around to show Kioko and I.

"Can we collect the evidence from your E-Pad or do we have to find it ourselves?" Kioko asked.

"Ba ba da baaaa, your principal has arrived!" Suddenly, annoyingly, Monoko popped up in the middle of us, throwing its paws up dramatically.

A small puff of confetti came out of its nose.

"Kyaaah, it's back!" Kioko screeched, jumping back.

"What an overreaction! Surely you're used to me by now!" Monoko shouted.

I suddenly felt extremely disgusted as I realised that we had, in fact, gotten used to the cat's sudden appearances. Sora and I hadn't even flinched.

That couldn't mean anything good.

"Anyway, what I was going to say was that you can't steal other people's evidence! You have to find it on your own~!" Monoko said.

"What? That's bullshit!" Sora shouted.

"Nuh uhhh, it's perfectly within reason! Everyone has to find their own evidence! That's why you don't get the same notes!" Monoko retorted.

"Well, if those two absolutely have to get their own evidence, can you at least tell them not to move anything?" She asked.

"I will do no such thing!" Monoko said, "everyone investigates on their own terms! If they want to tear up the crime scene, they can tear up the crime scene! If they want to keep it perfect, they can keep it perfect! If they want to tamper with evidence..." It put a paw on its mouth.

"This is stupid." Sora growled.

"Waaaah, how dare you call my masterpiece stupid! I'm just trying to help you kiddos!" Monoko kicked her in the shin and disappeared.

"Masterpiece..." I grimaced.

The room was silent as we all digested the cat's words.

Finally, though, Kioko tapped me on the shoulder.

"We should probably keep investigating." She said quietly.

"Y-yeah..." I turned back to the stool, picking it up to investigate. I expected to be told off by Sora, but instead I heard heavy footsteps and a door slamming.

A flinched at the loud noise, but tried not to let it affect me as I looked closer at the evidence.

It was snapped at the joint, and, looking closer, I saw something odd.

There were a few hairs attached to the joint. By themselves, I couldn't discern a colour, other than 'dark'.

My E-Pad jingled.

Frowning, I put the chair down again, theories rushing through my head.

A broken stool...dark hairs...were they from the culprit, or the victim?

I looked up.

"A-anyway, I think we've investigated all we can here."

"Yeah..." Kioko looked at the entrance to the baths warily.

For a moment, there was silence.

"Hey..." I looked at Kioko, offering a small smile, "once this is done, we'll work our hardest to make sure nothing like this happens again."

I took a deep breath, walked up to the doorway, and looked behind me briefly. Kioko watched as I pushed the noren out of the way and walked into the onsen.

Tamotsu Ryuunosuke was still holding Rei's head in his lap, every so often pressing his fingers on her wrist, as if checking to see if she was still alive.

Once he heard me, however, he looked up, and a great sadness flickered across his gaze, before he covered it with his usual calm appearance.

"Hello, Mr. Seiko." He said.

"H-hey..." I drifted off, running a hand through my hair.

"I suppose you are here to collect evidence?" Tamotsu asked.

"Yeah, I am." I looked over at him, "but...I'm really sorry about what happened." I said.

Tamotsu exhaled sharply, "it does not matter now. We should focus on who did it, rather than it itself."

I nodded.

"In any case, I have found quite a bit of evidence. Come closer." The Cello Player gestured me forward, and I bobbed down next to him.

"Regarding the way the blackened killed her, it is quite obviously drowning. However, I also found a large bump on the back of her head. If you feel this area-" Tamotsu took my hand and guided it to the back of Rei's head. I felt my face grow ashen as I realised I was touching a corpse, but swallowed the bile and rubbed my hand over the spot. There was, indeed, a bump there.

"I believe there was some kind of blunt force trauma to knock her unconscious." He explained.

"Ah, Kioko and I found a broken stool in the girl's dressing room." I said.

"Hmmm," He tilted his head, looking towards the changing areas, but perked up suddenly, "speaking of, here is Miss. Kozakura now." I looked over to find the Board Gamer walking over. She bobbed down next to us.

"Sorry I was late, I found some more evidence." She said.

"Eh? What?" I asked.

"I-I'll tell you after." She said, "this is more important."

I frowned, but let it go.

"Regarding how the victim came to be found in the onsen, I found this wrapped around her wrists and ankles." Tamotsu continued, holding up two long pieces of colourful rope. I took one of them and inspected it closely, and, as I thought, it was the exact same type as the one Seiichi had found.

"She struggled." Tamotsu said. He reached over and pulled up one of Rei's jumper sleeves.

What was underneath made both Kioko and I gasp in horror.

The skin was almost torn off, leaving small points of congealed blood. Where it wasn't torn, the skin itself had turned a horrible bruise-colour.

"She woke up?" I asked quietly.

"The wounds wouldn't be as bad, but the water caused more friction." Tamotsu pulled the jumper down again, "it is on her ankles as well."

I shivered.

"Is there...anything else?" Kioko asked softly.

"I found this in her hand." Tamotsu reached into his pocket and pulled out something peculiar.

A small, torn piece of black fabric sat in his palm, "I cannot tell whom or what it is from, unfortunately." He said.

I took the piece, "that's fine, Tamotsu. This should be able to narrow down the suspect list."

"Ah, then I am glad I could help." Tamotsu replied.

"Anyway, since we're here, we should search the onsen." Kioko said.

She stood and began moving towards the main bath, but suddenly the sound we hadn't wanted to hear echoed through the speakers.

DING DONG BING BONG!

"Attention students! This is Monoko, your principal, speaking! Investigation time has ended, so as quickly as you can, please make your way to the elevator on the fourth floor! I look forward to this next battle~!"

"Weeelcome, ladies and gentlemen, to your second ever trial! Ufufu, it was a long wait, but I'm so giddy for this next trial I might just-" Confetti burst from the cat's nostrils once again.

"Gross." Sora mumbled.

"Oiya! I keep myself very clean, I'll have you know!" Monoko shouted.

"Do you lick yourself like a real cat?" Yuudai asked.

"My spit has healing properties~!" Monoko sang.

"Gross." Sora said again. The cat turned to the Snowboarder and growled, before clearing its throat.

"Anyway, I have to tell you the rules! Ah, I'm so excited for this trial." It hugged itself.

"We've already heard the fuckin' rules!" Michi shouted.

"Weeeell, just in case you missed them the first time around, I'm gonna repeat them!" Monoko cleared its throat, "The Class Trial is where you will converse with each other to find out who the Blackened is! To do this, you can look at your E-Pads and find evidence to discuss. Once you've discussed everything and have a suspect, you vote for who you think the Blackened is! If you get it right, only the Blackened gets punished. If you get it wrong, though...all of you are punished."

"I'm having ptsd from that one running test I used to do at high school." Yuudai groaned.

"You mean the fitness...pacer...whatever that thing was?" Seiichi asked.

"Yeah, that thing!" Yuudai sighed, "at least it wasn't as bad as..." He didn't finish his sentence.

"Well, there's no time to think about that now." Aimi said softly, "I'm not sure about you, but I would like to leave this room promptly."

"Yeah..." Yuudai frowned, shook his head, and straightened his vest. When he looked back up at us, it was with a steely gaze.

"Woah, that's so out of character!" Kioko gasped, "Yuudai looks kinda scary!"

"Eh?" The Theatre Manager's eyes went wide.

"Is this the power of good acting?" Kioko leaned over her podium, awed.

Yuudai looked like he was about to say something, but was interrupted by a loud clap. We all looked towards the sound to find Alastor Yashin, hands clasped together, eyeing us all.

"Shouldn't we be focusing on other issues?" He asked simply, "such as how Amaterasu was murdered?"

"Exactly." Sora nodded.

"Ah, so, where do we start?" Seiichi scratched his head.

"The best place would be-" Alastor was cut off.

"Rouko Soba did it!" Michi Katsu shrieked.

"H-huh?!" Rouko's face paled.

"I saw her! Covered in blood! Asahi can confirm my alibi!" Michi pointed to me.

"There was no blood at the crime scene, though." Fuyutake frowned.

"They cleaned it all up!" Michi refuted.

"How come we didn't find a weapon?" Yuudai asked.

"'Coz they got rid of it!" Michi said.

"Tamotsu, were there any injuries that would cause blood loss?" Alastor asked.

The Cello Player didn't respond.

"Tamotsu?" Alastor frowned.

The silver-haired man didn't move. He looked downwards, face obscured by his hair.

"Hey, are you okay?" Fuyutake reached over and touched his shoulder.

He flinched away from her touch and, after a moment, slowly lifted his head.

"There were no blood-inducing injuries." Was all he said.

An eerie silence filled the room.

"Well, you're all a sack of sad kitties, aren't you?" Monoko's piercing voice made me jump, "I thought you all wanted to leave, but with the evidence you've gone through so far, you're gonna be here for the rest of the school year!" It cackled viciously.

"Shut up, you stupid cat." Sora growled.

"Huh? What was that, Miss Snowboarder?" Monoko cupped a paw around its ear.

"I said shut up!" Sora replied.

"Ouch, that hurt! But it won't hurt as much as you all getting punished if this trial doesn't get moving soon!" Monoko cried.

"What?!" Yuudai gasped.

"Remember, kiddos, there's a time limitttt! Better hurry up and get those brains working if you want to find the culprit~!" Monoko threw itself back in its throne, cackling loudly, "ufufufufu, this is too fun!"

"Evil little shit." Sora slammed her hand down on her podium, voice rising, "fine then! We'll play along with your game, but mark my words, this trial will be the last!"

"Okayyy." Monoko sounded unconvinced. The Snowboarder ground her teeth together and clenched her fists.

"Let's start with alibis." She finally spat.

"If we're doing that, I suppose I'll start." Alastor cleared his throat, "I was with Aimi from breakfast until lunch, and then with Tamotsu and Rei in the library until dinner. Rei left at some point in the afternoon due to wanting a nap."

"And then she didn't come to dinner." Seiichi tugged on his measuring tape, "did anyone see her after she left?"

"Kyung and I saw her on the stairs." Yuudai put his hand up.

"Oh, that's right." Kyung scratched her head, "I thought she looked...suspicious."

"Suspicious? How so?" Aimi asked.

"Ah, well, she wouldn't...meet our eyes. And she walked away...really fast." Kyung replied.

"What would someone like her be hiding?" Michi snorted, "she found an extra spooky ghost?" He waved his hands in the air mockingly.

"That's rude." Kioko said.

"Psh." Michi rolled his eyes, "she was fuckin' annoying anyway."

Tamotsu flinched.

"We're trying to solve a murder, not listen to some idiot's useless rambling. Let's get back on track." Sora said, "did anyone else see Rei after Yuudai and Kyung?" Sora asked.

Everyone exchanged looks, but nobody said anything.

"Great." Sora ground her teeth again.

"No need to worry. We have other evidence we can go over." Alastor said, "why don't we look at how the murder was committed?"

"That's a brilliant idea." Aimi nodded, "what evidence do we have?"

"Oh!" Seiichi threw his hand up, "the proplene!"

"The what?" Yuudai asked.

"Proplene! The rope! That thing!" Seiichi shouted.

"Polypropylene?" I asked. The Tailor nodded vigorously.

"We found it in the storage room. It's some kinda stretchy rope stuff; Asahi said it was for safety nets." Seiichi explained.

"What does this have to do with the murder?" Fuyutake asked.

"It was used to tie Rei's wrists and ankles." I said.

"It was on a really high shelf. You wouldn't be able to see it if you were on the floor." Seiichi said.

"So why do you know about it?" Sora asked.

"Well, I wanted some elastic for a piece I was tailoring, and I couldn't find any in my talent room. Monoko said it was in the storage room, so I went there.

"While I was searching, I heard a commotion from somewhere, but I didn't check it out until after I found the elastic. There was nobody there, but a packet of the rope was on the ground in front of one of the shelves." He explained.

"I can see straight through your poker face!" Alastor pointed to the Tailor, "with the care that Monoko took to make this place, I hardly believe it would forget to put an essential sewing item in the room for sewing supplies."

"E-eh?" Seiichi asked.

"Additionally, in lieu of the evidence I currently have at my disposal, I have an accusation to make." Alastor shot a wicked look at everyone, straightening his vest.

"How? We haven't figured anything out yet!" Fuyutake asked.

"As a group." Alastor noted, "on my own, however, I have noticed something very interesting about this case.

"If you all remember correctly, the victim is Miss Rei Amaterasu, correct?" He asked.

"What's the point of this?" Sora asked.

"Patience," The Croupier held a hand up, "we found her body in the onsen, yes?"

"Y-yeah..." Hisoka spoke up.

"So, by using simple logic, we can cut half of our suspects out." Alastor stated.

"H-Huh?!" Kioko gasped, "that quickly?"

"I'm surprised this hasn't been discussed already." Alastor tilted his head, then looked directly into my eyes, "Asahi, you look like you know what I'm saying. Why don't you tell the group?"

"M-me?" I stuttered.

"Yes." The Croupier simply replied.

Still somewhat confused, I tried to calm my racing thoughts and focus on what I had been asked.

Rei Amaterasu had been found in the onsen.

Something about that statement - those simple words - could cut out half of us.

I closed my eyes.

The onsen...

Something about the onsen...

Ah! I got it!

"Now I understand!" I shouted suddenly, startling a few of my classmates, "Monoko's rules!"

"Jackpot." Alastor smiled.

"If what I remember is correct, Monoko stated that only one gender was allowed in the onsen at one time." I explained.

"I believe my exact words were 'first in best dressed'?" Monoko asked.

"Yes, that." I said, "but that means that-"

"Only the girls could be murderers!" Yuudai shouted, cutting me off.

"That piece is on the wrong board!" Kioko pointed to the Theatre Manager.

"Eh?" Yuudai paled, "what does that even mean?"

"How do we even know if Rei was killed inside the onsen?" The Board Gamer asked.

"Back to square one." Rouko sighed.

"Don't give up so easily!" Aimi said, "Alastor's words have not been declared a fashion disaster just yet!"

"What is everyone talking about?!" Yuudai asked.

"Rei was drowned, therefore she had to have been in the onsen." Alastor stated.

"That could apply to anywhere with water!" Kioko replied.

"The bloating on her body suggests otherwise." Aimi said.

"That happens naturally with decay." Rouko harrumphed.

"Oh me oh my, have we got a split opinion?" Monoko asked, "finally?"

"Finally? What's that supposed to mean?" Sora asked.

"Well isn't this lovely, because I have a stage set up just for this time! I can't believe I've had to wait a whole trial and a half to use it!" The cat put an arm over its forehead dramatically.

"N-new...stage?" Hisoka mumbled.

"It's tiiiiiiiime...for a scrum debate!" Monoko shouted.

"Are we in a game or something? This is getting weird!" Yuudai shouted right as our podiums began to shift, forming themselves into two lines. I looked down my line; Yuudai, Aimi, Alastor, Sora, Tamotsu and Seiichi. On the opposite; Kyung, Michi, Hisoka, Fuyutake, Rouko and Kioko.

Yuudai looked like he was going to have a heart attack.

"Are...you okay?" I asked the Theatre Manager.

He didn't have time to reply, though, because Monoko interrupted.

"Ladies, gents, cats, welcome to the scrum debate! This is different to a regular trial, since you will be arguing over a single point!" The cat was standing on its podium, holding a black and white checked flag above its head, "the point this time is; where was Rei Amaterasu killed?" Without a second to spare, the cat flung the flag onto the ground and the debate had begun.

"There is no evidence to suggest that Rei was killed in the onsen!" Rouko shook her head.

"She was fuckin' drowned! What other evidence do you need?" Sora asked.

"There are...plenty of places to drown someone! The culprit...carried her inside the onsen!" Kyung was surprisingly fired up.

"Surely someone would have seen the culprit carrying Rei's body?" Aimi asked.

"Fuckin' idiot, they could have done it after hours!" Michi shouted.

"The onsen is not open after hours. Now, back to the topic." Alastor sighed, "Rei's condition suggested prolonged exposure to water."

"Obviously. She was in the stupid onsen all night!" Fuyutake groaned annoyedly.

"But what if she was killed in the morning?" Yuudai asked.

"T-that's imp-impossible." Hisoka said, "everyone was at breakfast."

"The condition of the body suggests-". Tamotsu was cut off.

"The culprit could have easily killed Rei in her room at night, then taken her to the onsen in the morning!" Kioko cried.

"No, that's wrong!" I shouted in reply, "I have proof that Rei was killed by a girl! Seiichi!" I pointed to the Tailor in question.

He didn't falter.

"When I went to the onsen yesterday, there were two girls inside!" He stated.

Kioko grit her teeth, but had no response.

Nobody else did either.

"Woah, what a finish!" Monoko shouted, "that was so intense I almost fell off my chair! Then I would only have seven lives left!"

The podiums began to move back to their original positions.

Adrenaline still rushing through me, I forced my shoulders to relax and my jaw to unclench.

"Two girls?" Fuyutake prompted once everyone had returned to their positions.

"Yeah. I was there around the time Rei was killed, but I couldn't get inside. When I checked the scanners, they said there were two girls inside." Seiichi stated.

"Then this is fuckin' easy! Who was it?" Michi laughed.

"The scanners don't say who, just how many." The Tailor explained.

"So...we've narrowed it down. There are only six suspects, correct?" Alastor asked.

"Ah, I guess it's been proven." Aimi smiled, "but I still feel like we haven't gone far."

A terrible silence filled the room.

"Where...do we go from here?" Kyung asked.

The silence continued.

"I believe..." Alastor brought the attention to himself, "we never finished going over Seiichi's elastic situation."

"Does it matter?" Rouko asked.

"Despite the fact that I can't think why a sewing item would be in a storage room, I do wonder who was in there while he was." He explained.

"Oh, yeah! That was weird." Seiichi frowned.

"Well, who was it? Come on, spit it out!" Michi called.

"It doesn't work that way." Sora snapped, "if the person ran away, that means they obviously didn't want to be caught."

"Caught doing what?" Fuyutake asked.

"Getting the rope." Yuudai replied, then looked at everyone, "...right?"

"Right!" Kioko shouted, shocking the Theatre Manager, "It would look super suspicious if someone was caught with rope!"

"W-well, I don't think we c-can make any acc-cusations from j-just that." Hisoka said.

"Very true." Tamotsu nodded, "we need more certain evidence. Perhaps somebody saw the culprit?"

A few people shook their heads. Looks were exchanged.

"Ah, disappointing." Aimi sighed, "oh well, we can come back to that. What about the day of her murder? What was everybody up to?"

"Ah, I was in the kitchen most of the day, so I didn't really see much. I went to the library, and then I spent until nighttime hours with Kyung." Rouko scratched her head, "but that doesn't really give me an alibi..." She laughed softly.

"I can...confirm that." Kyung raised her hand, "I was with Yuudai until the afternoon, when I was with Rouko."

"I was in my room yesterday afternoon, looking through my cupboard. Monoko definitely left me with a lot of beautiful clothing!" Aimi gushed.

"W-Wait, I saw you go to the k-kitchen." Hisoka spoke up.

"Oh yes, well, I can't be expected to simply not eat when I'm doing such strenuous activity!" Aimi laughed awkwardly, "don't worry, though. Rouko saw me!"

"Mmhmm." The Translator nodded, "she made a cucumber sandwich."

"What about the m-morning?" Hisoka asked.

"I was with Aimi until lunch." Alastor raised his hand, "and then I was with Rei and Tamotsu."

"I was with Kyung, looking at scenes from my play." Yuudai said.

"I was alone in my talent room all afternoon." Fuyutake said.

"I w-was in the cafeteria by myself." Hisoka scratched his head.

"Ah, that's already too many people by themselves." I frowned.

"Yeah...I guess alibis aren't really working." Yuudai sighed.

"The dark hairs." Kioko suddenly said, pointing to me.

"The ones on the stool?" I asked.

"I don't think there are others." Kioko frowned, "Asahi, did you find others?"

"Ah, no!" I waved my hands, "but is there much to talk about? They're Rei's, right? She was hit with a stool in the changing rooms."

"Yeah, exactly." Sora pitched in, "that's why she had that big bruise on her head."

"Bruise? I didn't see a bruise." Yuudai scratched his head.

"Well, since Tamotsu did the autopsy, I'm sure he can help us." I said, "Tamotsu, is there anything interesting you found out?"

"Mm." The Cello Player nodded, tapping on the edge of the podium, "she did have a bump on her head. Likely from the stool."

"Is there any evidence in the onsen?" Fuyutake asked, "leading to the culprit."

A few seconds of silence passed as we all looked at each other for answers.

"What about the fabric in Rei's hand?" I asked.

"Oh yeah!" Kioko gasped, "I bet it's from the culprit!"

"Weren't her hands tied? How would she get fabric from the culprit?" Yuudai asked.

"That would be my evidence." Tamotsu raised a hand, "during the autopsy, I noticed that her wrists had what looked like carpet burn. This is most likely from the rope, meaning she would have struggled with her attacker, causing the burn." He explained.

"Couldn't that have been caused by the onsen?" Rouko asked, "she woke up when she was in the water."

"What?" Sora asked.

"Water causes more friction." Rouko replied simply.

"Not that." Sora narrowed her eyes.

"I just asked if the friction could have been from the water." Rouko scrunched her eyebrows together, "was it wrong?"

She looked around the room, but there was only silence as we all stared, shocked.

"A confession? And one that was completely unintended, as well. What a surprise." A sly grin spread over Alastor's face, eyes darkening in glee.

Rouko's eyes widened. She had finally realised.

"Ah, it was a slip of the tongue! I meant to say 'what if'!" She rushed out, shaking her head vigorously.

"I don't think I believe that, Rouko Soba." Alastor stated, "after all, there's quite a bit of evidence that points to you already."

"Wait, does that mean..?" I drifted off.

"We have to make an accusation?" Kioko asked.

"No!" Sora shouted, "we still have a ton of evidence to look at!"

"You disagree?" Alastor prompted the Snowboarder with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes-" Sora paused, "no. I'm not disagreeing, but I think we need to make sure it's her before we make our accusation."

"Wait a minute, why aren't I getting a say?" Rouko cried, "it wasn't me!"

"That slip of the tongue suggests otherwise." Tamotsu murmured.

I looked over at him, and my eyes widened.

His eyes were shadowed, his head tilted downward towards the potential culprit. His hands clenched the podium tightly, and his jaw was tensed. He looked like he was barely holding back an impossible rage that welled from within.

"That was nothing." Rouko's tone turned scathing, "words aren't evidence. You can't accuse me from what I say."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. We don't just have words. We have evidence." Alastor said, "so have at you, Rouko Soba. Let's find out who wins this Russian Roulette game."

He made the shape of a gun with his hand, pointed it at the Translator and then himself in turn, and smiled again.

"Ahhh, the fun part is just about to start!" Monoko breathed excitedly, smoke coming out of its nose.

"Fine." Rouko laughed, stepping up to Alastor's invitation, "but you'd best watch out, because I can and will prove my innocence without a shadow of a doubt."

I took a deep breath.

This was it. The moment we had been waiting for.

The Blackened, our culprit, was standing right in front of us, and it was our job to reveal her true colours.

Whether she was innocent or guilty, it was up to us to find out.

And I was ready.

"Rouko Soba, I accuse you of the murder of Rei Amaterasu, Ultimate Exorcist." Alastor said, "and here's why."

"Let's go over the events. Asahi, since you seem to be quite knowledgeable in class trials, can you assist me?" Alastor asked.

"I-uhm, sure." I ran my hands through my hair, surprised at the statement.

"Wonderful." He clapped his hands together, "Rouko Soba, this is my account of the events.

"It all started yesterday afternoon. Our victim, Miss Rei Amaterasu, was spending time in the library with Mr Tamotsu Ryuunosuke when she suddenly left under the pretence of a nap. Whether she was actually going for a nap, or for something else, is unknown. Either way, she was caught before she could get to her destination by our culprit, who invited her to the onsen. They both went to the space, where our culprit had earlier hidden some rope they stole from the storage room.

"During this time, Seiichi Shigeru decided to make a trip to the onsen, but wasn't allowed in due to two girls already being there. Disappointed, he left, unaware of the tragedy that was to occur.

"Rei Amaterasu had her back to the room as she prepared a locker, and the culprit took the chance to grab a stool from the wash stations on the other end of the room and sneak up on our victim, smacking her hard in the back of the head with the object. This caused a bruise to her skull and she passed out almost instantly. The culprit jumped on their chance and took the rope from its hiding space, beginning to tie Rei's ankles, and then her wrists. Unfortunately, the culprit hadn't smacked Rei hard enough, and the victim woke up. She began to struggle and a fight ensued, where Rei managed to tear a piece of the culprit's clothing from her. Due to being very weak, though, Rei was easily subdued and the culprit continued their work. After tying her up, the culprit took Rei to the onsen and presumably threw her in face first, so she could not escape. Then, they held the girl's face under the water until she passed.

"Injured and exhausted, the culprit stepped out of the onsen and went to the change rooms, where they showered and dressed, making sure they were mostly dry before leaving the crime scene behind. They got rid of their wet clothes and went to the cafeteria to make dinner as an alibi.

"Do I have everything correct, Asahi?" Alastor finished.

"Yeah. That's right." I nodded. The Croupier let a sly smile spread over his face.

"Then I make my official accusation. It was you, Rouko Soba." He pointed to the Translator, who looked utterly shocked.

But then...she smiled.

And laughed.

"What makes you think I'd do something like that?" She asked, incredulous.

"All the evidence points to you." I said.

Rouko snorted, "what evidence? A rope? You can't even prove someone burnt their hands on it!"

"I can provide extra evidence!" Kioko shouted, "there was a note found in the rubbish near the onsen that said 'I'm sorry'. The notepad had the letter R on the top!"

"Oh?" Rouko looked taken aback, her face paling, "b-but I don't have anyone on the outside. I don't want to leave."

"The motive." Fuyutake replied.

"Huh?"

"The motive." She continued, "it was that you could leave with someone else. I think I know who it would be." She pointed to Kyung Hye.

"Eh?" The Exchange Student looked shocked.

"You and Rouko are inseparable." Fuyutake said.

"That's right!" I added.

"No!" A voice cut through the trial room like a sword, "I refuse to believe such lies!"

We all looked to see Kyung Hye, absolute, passionate fury on her face.

"Eh?!" I asked.

"Rouko would never do...such a thing! You can't accuse her...so easily!" Kyung slammed her hands onto the podium, so hard it shook.

"All the evidence points to her!" I replied.

"Oh my...is this a one-on-one?" Monoko asked, "how fun! Hang on a second-" the cat pressed a button next to its podium and suddenly, like before, our podiums began to move.

They lifted up, above the others, until we were facing each other head-on.

Kyung stared straight into my eyes, fire blazing, and spoke calmly.

"I must...defend Rouko at all costs. Cruelty is not in her nature."

I didn't want to do this. I never thought I would be pulling apart a friendship as strong as theirs, but...

To help everyone survive, including Kyung, I had to convince her otherwise!

"Then explain why." I replied.

She didn't falter.

"That note could have...been written by anybody," She said, "the message was...open-ended. And the notepad? That 'R' could be many people. It is...flimsy evidence at best."

"Who could have written it then? Nobody in this group has anything to apologise for, except for the killer. Rouko would have had access to Rei's bedroom as well. Since she was the only one who knew she was dead, she would be able to enter and exit the room freely!" I replied.

Kyung gritted her teeth, but kept her cool.

"Her hair! The reason it was wet is because she took a shower, not because she was in the onsen! She would have had...ages to let her hair dry if she truly was the killer!"

"No, that's wrong! She had to give herself an alibi, or she would immediately be found out! She didn't have time to waste."

"She had plenty of time! Where was Aimi? Her alibi is shaky...at best!"

"But she was seen by Hisoka during the time of the murder!"

"I refuse to believe such lies! Give me one...definite piece of evidence to prove it!" Kyung slammed her hand on the podium.

A definite piece of evidence.

This trial had been filled with so many coincidences and easily misinterpreted evidence that it would be difficult, but...I knew there was something.

I knew it!

"I have something!" A voice suddenly shouted from below.

Surprised, I looked down to see Kioko, waving her E-Pad in the air, "I have evidence!"

"What?" Kyung's face paled.

The podiums slowly began to lower as Kioko spoke.

"I left Asahi to have one last look at the changing rooms, because something didn't feel right. I searched around for a while, but finally I noticed something on top of the lockers!" Kioko spun her E-Pad around to show everyone.

"The fabric we found. It belonged to something." On the pad was an image of a ripped piece of black fabric, fastened at one side with a silver clip. It looked like...

"Rouko's...choker..." Kyung gasped, "but, it can't be..."

"It was thrown on top of the lockers. I had to get a stool to reach it, which is why I think it wasn't moved. Rouko couldn't reach the lockers, and wanted to leave quickly, so she left it behind and hoped we wouldn't find it." Kioko said, softer now.

The adrenaline was leaving everyone, as we all realised.

It was over.

Rouko tilted her head to an odd angle, then sighed, slowly and deliberately.

"You've caught me." She sang softly.

Kyung's face paled further.

"Looks like it's voting time!" Monoko threw its hands in the air happily. Suddenly, the screen on my E-Pad lit up, showing, once again, the faces I had seen every day of this horrific nightmare.

...Kaida, Eiji and Rei's faces were all greyed out.

With a shaking hand, knowing what would happen, I pressed on Rouko's face.

Confirm?

I touched the yes button.

And once again, I had sealed someone's fate.

I had sentenced them to death.

CORRECT!

Flashed on the screen.

Confetti rained down.

Everyone around me felt muffled. My vision narrowed to a single point, a single pair of purple eyes, laced with fear.

"Why did you vote?" Asked Rouko Soba, "why did you all vote?"

"Well, frankly. You are a despicable human being." Alastor stated.

"N-no, but, you don't understand. I...I can't go. Not yet. I have to protect Kyung." Rouko panicked, "Everyone else treated me like shit. I was nothing more than a toy. They hurt me...they did...horrible things...and when they were done, they left me alone." Rouko hugged herself, eyes wide as she re-lived something incomprehensible.

"Rouko, you had all of us as well-" Yuudai was cut off.

"You don't understand!" Rouko shouted so loudly I jumped. She held her arm out and pulled the sleeve up fully, revealing the scars which criss-crossed her arm, "they did this! I had no part! She saw I was vulnerable, and she took advantage of it so she could get what she wanted. I took the fall, I took the damage, I took her problems away.

"Kyung...Kyung saved me. She was there for me. She never let me down, or hurt me, or forced me to do anything I didn't want to." Rouko began to sob, "I just wanted her to know how much I cared. I didn't want her to die. My...She was my saviour."

"Protecting your loved ones. What a noble cause." Alastor fiddled with his shirt sleeves, "for people that don't commit murder."

"Alastor-!" Aimi gasped.

"Murder is a cowardly act." Alastor said.

"You don't understand! Have you ever been manipulated? Have you been forced to live with the person who takes advantage of you every day?" Rouko asked, shaking with rage.

"It was your fault." Alastor said.

"Nothing was ever my fault! People sit there and say your siblings are your closest friends, that you should always respect them, that they'll always be there for you, but she never was. And when she died...I didn't cry." Rouko had finally stopped shouting, but her words held no less weight.

"Kyung! I know you don't want to be without me. We've spent so much time together, we can't be apart." Her eyes were crazed as she reached out to the Exchange Student, who was horrified. Terrifyingly, her voice stayed completely calm.

"Come on, die with me. I can't be alone. I can't be alone. We were made for each other, Kyung." She grabbed the girl's wrist, and Kyung gasped, shrinking back.

"Get off me," She whispered.

But Rouko wasn't listening. She'd taken on some kind of terrifying persona. Her eyes were spinning, she was only focused on Kyung.

"Nobody can split us. There's no point in living if we aren't together. Kyung...I love you." Rouko wrapped her arms around the shaking Exchange Student.

There was an audible gasp around the room.

But just then, the sound of clinking chains came from behind us, and that metal clamp that had taken Kaida was now wrapped around Rouko's neck. The Translator looked surprised, reaching her hands up to it.

But then, suddenly, she was yanked backwards. A piercing screech echoed down the hall.

Kyung Hye stumbled forward, almost falling.

'Rouko Soba has been found guilty'

appeared on the screen.

And then Monoko appeared, holding its neon flag.

Once again, things were happening too fast.

But now...we were in the execution room.

The lights suddenly snapped on.

Error in Translation!

Rouko is on her hands and knees. She looks up at the lights switching on and sees thin walls. She's in a classroom. To the left of her is a singular desk and chair, on top of which is a test paper and pencil.

Rouko sees it and glares, standing up. Ignoring the desk, she moves around the room, touching each wall, until she comes to the one that the rest of the students are sitting behind, a window pointing towards their horrified faces.

She looks at it, past it, and her facial expression returns to the empty hunger from before.

"Kyung." She says, "I can't die alone. I'm scared. I need you here with me." She presses a hand on the glass.

"N-no." A soft voice whispers from behind Asahi.

"I love you, Kyung. I've always loved you. I worship the ground that you step on. You saved me. From my past. From myself." She presses her other hand to the glass. A tear rolls down her cheek.

But someone is getting annoyed.

Suddenly, from behind her, a chain wraps around her neck once again and yanks her back into the chair. She tries to struggle out of it, but clamps attach to her ankles and waist, locking her in.

She screeches in anger and fear, but upon realising she has no escape, she looks at the paper in front of her. It's a language test. Japanese.

Slowly, she picks up the pen and begins writing, finishing the paper easily. A Monoko with a wheel for legs, a suit jacket and glasses then bursts in from a previously unseen door, making her jump, and she looks over at it as it comes closer, wobbling dangerously, and takes the paper, inspecting it. It then clicks a button, and a green 'O' appears on a screen in front of Rouko. It hands her another test. Korean.

Rouko does it easily, the Monoko checks it, and a green 'O' appears on the screen. It hands her another one. Rouko finishes it, hands it to the Monoko and it scans over. Suddenly, it presses a button and a large red 'X' shows up on the screen. A loud sound is heard and suddenly Rouko has the lead of an oversized pencil in her arm.

She looks down at it and screams. Monoko hands her another test, unfazed. Rouko does the test, a red 'X' shows up, and a spike goes into her leg. She screams again. Neon pink runs down her arm to the chair and then the floor, pooling quickly. She begins to get paler. Her hand wobbles as she finishes the next test.

A red 'X', and a spike goes into her other leg. Another test, another 'X', a spike goes into her writing arm. She screams, loudly this time, louder than other times, and the Monoko simply puts another test down. She grips the pen, a new determination filling her, and moves her arm, whimpering with every movement. She finishes the test. Monoko looks it over. A green 'O'. Rouko sighs in relief.

And another test is placed in front of her. Rouko, distraught, looks to the Monoko, then at the test. She grips her pencil, finishes it, and passes it on. The Monoko looks over it.

Red 'X'.

"What-no! I got them all right! They're all right!" Rouko shouts, but then a spike shoots out, and she doesn't notice it, she's too angry, but it spears right through her chest, pulling her down and anchoring her to the table.

She's still alive. Tears run down her face. She brings an arm up slowly, mouths the word 'Kyung'.

And then a dozen other spears shoot out. The lights go out before they hit her.

A thud, and the sound of something dripping on the floor rhythmically is the only thing breaking the silence.

Rouko Soba is dead.

No words could be said as we all made our way to the elevator. Kyung stayed stony faced the entire way up, but as soon as we got out and Monoko disappeared, her legs began to wobble. She looked around at us all desperately, taking a couple of steps forward, and brought her hands to her mouth, trying to hide the sobs.

It didn't work.

She took another step forward, faltered, and closed her eyes tightly. Silent tears streamed.

Nobody came to help her.


End file.
